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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254668">anne of olympus</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeayoo/pseuds/zeayoo'>zeayoo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>anne of olympus [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore Fusion, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Demigods, Explicit Language, Mount Olympus (Ancient Greek Religion &amp; Lore), also roy's here forgive me, anne is literally so powerful but she doesn't even know it, diana too, fuck billy andrews and his ares ass lol, gilbert is such a cutie, jerry is an angel, shirbert slowburn sorry, who is anne the daughter of?? idk u have to read to find out ;)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:54:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>46,554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeayoo/pseuds/zeayoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>the anne with an e/percy jackson au that literally no one asked for but I delivered regardless.</p><p>basically anne is thrust into the world of greek gods and goddesses and finds herself at camp half-blood. for her whole life, she never had parents and now she learns one of her parents is a GOD? and suddenly she finds herself in the middle of a war between two of the most powerful gods and its up to her and her newfound friends to stop it.<br/>*based on Percy Jackson and the lightning bolt (with a little Anne with an e twist)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Diana Barry &amp; Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe &amp; Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley, Jerry Baynard &amp; Anne Shirley, Royal "Roy" Gardner &amp; Anne Shirley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>anne of olympus [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768633</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. it started with a pen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Anne was smart. <em>Really </em>smart. She always had been. For all 16 years of her life, she just had this fantastic love of reading and a thirst to continuously expand the world around her through knowledge.</p><p>The other girls at the orphanage always used to tease her for having dyslexia and ADHD, not to mention her dreadful red hair. However, the constant belittlement and bullying only pushed her to work harder.</p><p>Even when she moved in with the awful Hammond family, she continued to push herself to excel in her studies- despite practically being their unpaid maid. The school the Hammonds allowed her to attend was Hercules High School for troubled teens, a rundown school in the center of New York City. Due to little funding from the government, the light fixtures throughout the school always seemed to be flickering and as much as the school tried to play it off, there was a huge roach problem. For Anne, the six hours spent in school each day were both a blessing and curse. She was able to escape from the Hammonds’ abuse during that time, but that didn’t mean she was safe from the bullies.</p><p>The first few years of Anne’s life were very lonely. She didn’t have any friends until she met Jerry, the boy who lived in the apartment across from the Hammonds. He walked to school with her every day and always gave a valiant effort to stand up to the assholes who would pull and tug at Anne’s hair. Unfortunately, this just meant Jerry was also a target. While Anne had learned to ignore the mean comments directed at her, she couldn’t standby and watch them bag on Jerry too when they got bored.</p><p>Anne had gotten in a fair share of fights in her time at Hercules and to the surprise of her classmates, won all of them. She was often underestimated due to her height and seemingly fragile demeanor. Her favorite teacher, Miss. Stacy, usually had to reprimand her for these fights but she always failed to hide the twinkle of amusement in her eyes.</p><p>It just so happened on one fateful day that Miss. Stacy decided to stay after school to grade papers.</p><p>It was the end of the day and Anne stood with Jerry at her locker as she shoved a few books into her bag. The hallways were empty as Anne and Jerry had opted to do some homework together in the library.</p><p>“Jerry, do you ever just feel… out of place?” Anne asked him.</p><p>Jerry looked at Anne with an unreadable expression on his face. “I don’t know, I’ve never really thought about it…”</p><p>“I just feel like I’m meant to be more than just the Hammonds’ punching bag,” Anne sighed and dramatically swung her bag over her shoulder, “And knowing them, it’s not like they’d ever let me go to college or anything which just sucks because I’ve worked so hard, you know? Despite everything that’s wrong with my life, I just keep trying and…I dunno, I’m just worried I’m never gonna find myself. It’s like there’s this <em>gravitational pull </em>on my body, urging me to do something with my life. Something worth remembering.” She shut her locker and looked at Jerry, “You know what I mean?”</p><p>The expression on Jerry’s face softened. “Anne, I know you’re gonna do great things. You just need to wait for your time,” He told her. His eyes widened immediately after the words left his mouth.</p><p>“My time? What do you mean?” Anne asked, confused.</p><p>“What?” Jerry laughed nervously, “No, I don’t mean anything by that. Like I- I just meant that… you know, eventually…”</p><p>Anne stared at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence.</p><p>“There’ll come a time where you will… r-rise to the… occasion?” continued Jerry, practically blabbering now.</p><p>“If you don’t mind me interrupting,” a voice from behind them spoke.</p><p>They both turned to face the owner of the voice and were met with the bright face of Miss. Stacy.</p><p>“I think Jerry’s trying to say that he believes in you,” Miss. Stacy said, sending a quick wink in Jerry’s direction.</p><p>A relieved expression replaced Jerry’s worried one and he reminded himself to thank her for that later.</p><p>“Anne, I’m glad you stayed after school today. I want to talk to you about something in private,” Miss. Stacy told her.</p><p>“Sure! I’ll see you later, Jerry.”</p><p>Waving bye to Jerry, Anne followed the young English teacher into her classroom. Miss. Stacy sat down in her chair and opened one of the drawers. She reached in and dug around for something.</p><p>“What did you want to talk about?” Anne asked her, curiously.</p><p>Miss. Stacy finally found what she was looking for and set it down in front of Anne.</p><p>“I read your report on <em>The Illiad </em>and found it to be absolutely riveting!” Miss. Stacy replied.</p><p>“Thank you, that means so much,” Anne gushed, “I really enjoyed writing it. There’s something about Greek mythology that interests me a lot.”</p><p>Miss. Stacy perked up at this, “Really? I’m glad to hear that. From one kindred spirit to another, having knowledge about Greek mythology could really help you in the long run,” she paused for moment, “ Well anyway, I just wanted to give you this.”</p><p>She motioned to the object she had placed in front of Anne- a fancy looking ball-point pen. It was black with gold symbols. On the cap of the pen was a tiny inscription written in Latin. <em>Ad astra per aspera.</em></p><p>“A good writer needs a good writing utensil,” Miss. Stacy said.</p><p>“Oh, I just love it! I’ve never seen a pen of this caliber before!” Anne exclaimed. She examined the pen for a moment before delicately placing it into her bag, her finger running along the inscription at the top.</p><p>Miss. Stacy smiled. “I’m glad you like it,” she paused for a moment, “And like Jerry said, I really do think you’re going to great things, Anne. You’re really special.”</p><p>Anne felt heat rise to her face. “You and Jerry expect way too much from me,” she laughed and glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should probably get going, but thank you so much for the pen. I’ll treasure it forever.”</p><p>Anne turned to leave but Miss. Stacy placed her hand on Anne’s arm.</p><p>“Just be careful out there,” Miss. Stacy said firmly, “Remember, pens can be more useful than they let on.”</p><p>A bit confused, Anne merely nodded and bounced out of the room, excited to do homework with her brand new pen.</p><p>Miss. Stacy watched her leave, her eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>~</p><p>Anne rushed home, worried she was going to be in trouble for staying at school for so long. The Hammonds had many rules and dilly dallying after school was definitely breaking them. Two years with them and you learn a lot about the type of people they are.</p><p>After hopping on the subway and sprinting a few blocks, she burst through the door of their rickety apartment. Prepared to defend her case, she was shocked to find the apartment quiet and seemingly empty.</p><p>“Mrs. Hammond?” she called, confused by the eery silence.</p><p>Anne slowly walked through the kitchen and peered down the dimly lit hallway. Strange. Mrs. Hammond was almost always home.</p><p>She turned around and was met with the face of Mr. Hammond, a tall and thin man with a five o’clock shadow. Startled, Anne gasped and brought her hand up to her chest. It was like he had just appeared out of thin air.</p><p>“Mr. Hammond! I… didn’t see you there,” Anne said.</p><p>He stared at her in disdain.</p><p>“I’m sorry for being late, the subway was delayed,” she continued, trying her hardest not to break eye contact with the man.</p><p>“Quit lying,” he growled in a low voice. His voice sounded strange.</p><p>Taken aback, Anne slowly took a few steps away from him.</p><p>“Lying? What do you mean lying?” Anne asked.</p><p>“I know you’re lying to me, child,” he growled again.</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied in a shaky voice.</p><p>He took a step forward.</p><p>“I know you have it,” Mr. Hammond glowered, his eyes bloodshot.</p><p>“Have what? Mr. Hammond, I don’t understand,” Anne said.</p><p>“We know, Anne Shirley. We know you’re lying,” he hissed.</p><p>Horrified, Anne backed against the wall. “We?”</p><p>“Give it to me!” He screeched. All of a sudden, his bloodshot eyes started to glow. Bat-like wings sprung out of his back. His teeth were replaced with fangs and hands with long talons.</p><p>Anne couldn’t believe her eyes. Was she completely losing her mind? She didn’t have time to worry about her mental state because Mr. Hammond, or whatever this <em>thing</em> was, lunged at her with extremely malicious intent.</p><p>She ducked out of the reach of his claws and managed to run to the other side of the room. The monster tried to fly towards her but the low ceilings in the apartment prevented this. Glaring at her, it launched itself at her again, hissing. Anne swiftly avoided the claws but not without a deep gash to her stomach. Crying out, she pushed the kitchen table towards the monster. Glasses and plates fell off the table and shattered on the ground.</p><p>Frantically trying to think, she surveyed her surroundings for a weapon to defend herself with, wondering if one of the kitchen knives could suffice. Instead, Miss. Stacy’s words from earlier echoed in her mind.</p><p>
  <em>“Pens can be more useful than they let on.”</em>
</p><p>Her gut instinct told her to listen to this intrusive thought and she quickly reached into her bag for the ball-point pen. Pulling it out, she looked at it and realized in that moment how stupid she was being. Did she really think some fancy pen could save her?</p><p>Mr. Hammond was standing between her and the door so there was no way she could escape. The only other way out was through the window but she would likely die from a fall that high.</p><p>Running out of options, she decided that this was just how she was going to die. Her mean adoptive father had turned into some sort of evil devil monster thing and he was going to kill her. She closed her eyes as Mr. Hammond lunged at her again. But something inside of her was urging her to click the pen. So she did.</p><p>Eyes still shut tightly, she heard Mr. Hammond hiss but when she opened her eyes, he was gone. And there was a sword in her hands.</p><p>“Oh my god,” she breathed out, staring at the sword in shock.</p><p>Before she could even try to comprehend what the hell just happened, the door to the apartment flung open. Jerry stood in the doorway, panting.</p><p>“What <em>happened</em>? Are you okay?” He asked her, eyes wide when he noticed the sword in her hand, “Oh<em> Styx</em>!”</p><p>She nearly tumbled over but Jerry rushed over to catch her.</p><p>“C’mon, we need to leave. Right now,” he said.</p><p>Anne clicked the pen again and the sword dematerialized right in front of her eyes.</p><p>“Miss. Stacy gave me a weapon and I just killed my adoptive father with it,” she stated, horrified.</p><p>“I promise you, that was <em>not </em>your adoptive father. And we need to leave now,” Jerry told her. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out the door.</p><p>~</p><p>The next few hours Anne can only describe as pure chaos.</p><p>Jerry dragged her through the city, Anne practically in a daze the entire time. She replayed the madness of whatever had just unfolded in the apartment over and over in her head, trying to come up with some sort of explanation for it. She’d always been pretty imaginative and creative, but not enough for her to generate an actual monster in real life with her mind.</p><p>“Where are we going?” she demanded as they sprinted through the streets.</p><p>They were running so fast that Anne felt like everyone was staring at them.</p><p>“We need to get you to camp,” he told her, “But first we need to find Miss. Stacy.”</p><p>“Camp? What camp? Jerry, what is going on? Do you know what that thing was?” she asked, “Please just tell me I’m not crazy.”</p><p>“You’re not crazy, Anne. You’re a demigod,” he declared.</p><p>“Oh my god. I am crazy,” Anne deadpanned.</p><p>“I’ll explain everything soon, we just need to…” he trailed off when something caught his eye.</p><p>Panicking, Jerry opted to call an Uber. Anne was still in too much shock to make fun of the fact that in Jerry’s panic, he decided that calling an Uber was the answer.</p><p>When the Uber arrived, he ushered Anne into the car and hopped in right after her. They drove for quite a long time, driving over the bridge and out of the city.</p><p>Jerry spent the entire ride mumbling to himself. Anne could only make out a few words: Miss. Stacy, Kindly one, camp, and danger. This did not sound promising to her.</p><p>The Uber dropped them off near some sort of forest.</p><p>“Let’s go,” Jerry said.</p><p>“Into the woods? But it’s dark out,” Anne said.</p><p>“We just need to find camp and we’ll be safe,” he promised.</p><p>“What camp? Jerry, can you just tell me what’s going on? Oh god, what’s Mrs. Hammond going to think when she realizes both me and Mr. Hammond are gone?”</p><p>“Anne, just listen to me. We are in danger and we need to get to safety now. That monster you saw wasn’t your imagination or anything. It was a Fury,” he explained quickly, scanning the area around them.</p><p>“A Fury? Like in Greek mythology?” Anne was confused.</p><p>Jerry nodded, “Exactly. All those myths that we studied in Miss. Stacy’s class aren’t myths, Anne. They’re real stories. Those gods and goddesses we learned about? They’re real and we…”</p><p>In the distance, they could hear some sort of low grumbling noise.</p><p>All the color drained from Jerry’s face.</p><p>“And we need to go now,” Jerry urged.</p><p>Anne turned around to look at what he was looking at. Realization set in when she saw a large figure barreling towards them.</p><p>The two of them ran into the woods, their feet carrying them faster than their minds. At some point, Jerry ripped off his pants and tossed them to the side. They were running so fast that she only caught a glimpse of his bottom half but when she did, her jaw nearly dropped.</p><p>“Are you a<em> goat</em>?” Anne shouted as they sprinted through the trees.</p><p>“A satyr is the correct term!” Jerry shouted in response.</p><p>Okay, Anne thought. Why not.</p><p>The monster following them was catching up to them by the second.</p><p>“Are we almost there?” Anne asked.</p><p>“You might want to get out Miss. Stacy’s pen,” Jerry suggested frantically.</p><p>She agreed and took the pen out of her pocket.</p><p>Anne knew they were almost to their destination when she could see the words "CAMP HALF-BLOOD" on a sign in the distance.</p><p>But before she could celebrate this, Jerry tripped over a tree root and bashed his head against the tree.</p><p>“Jerry!” Anne called out, rushing to see if he was alright.</p><p>He moaned in pain. She tried to get him to stand up but wasn’t quick enough.</p><p>The monster jumped in front of them, shaking the earth beneath them. It was much bigger than Mr. Hammond had been. With two huge horns on the top of its head, it almost looked like a giant cow but much more frightening. She remembered learning about this monster in Miss. Stacy’s class- the Minotaur.</p><p>Heart pounding, Anne clicked the pen. It was like a switch went off inside of her. In a flash, she felt like she knew what to do. The sword was balanced in her hand as she took a swing at the Minotaur. It fell back before charging at her, its eyes murderous. She dove out of the way.</p><p>With a huff, the Minotaur stomped its feet and geared up to charge Anne again. She was less successful in avoiding the monster this time. It smashed into her and she fell onto her back, the pain vibrating against her chest.</p><p>Forcing herself to get back on her feet quickly, she egged the Minotaur on.</p><p>“C’mon,” she shouted, suddenly angry, “C’MON. IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?”</p><p>The Minotaur lunged at her again and she swiftly rolled to avoid it, slicing its side with the sword. It groaned out in pain but managed to knock the sword out of her hand. The sword landed far away from Anne with a clang.</p><p>The Minotaur's eyes were filled with anger, but they weren't directed at Anne. </p><p>She followed its gaze and her eyes landed on Jerry who was knocked out on the ground. She knew she needed to keep the Minotaur away from him so she screamed out again.</p><p>“HEY! I’M OVER HERE, YOU FUCKER!”</p><p>This got the monster’s attention.</p><p>It charged her again but even though Anne didn’t have her sword, she actually had a plan. This time, she didn’t move. Instead, she flattened herself against a tree and braced herself for impact.</p><p>The Minotaur ran into the tree at full speed. It crashed into the tree, horn first, missing Anne's chest by a mere inch. As it tried to free itself, the horn broke off and the Minotaur stumbled backwards, crying out in pain.</p><p>Seeing her chance, Anne tried to yank the horn out of the tree. The Minotaur had recovered and was gearing up to charge her again. Hearing its hooves galloping on the ground, she pulled with all of her strength to free the horn.</p><p>She managed to pull the horn out just as the Minotaur had closed in on her and she stabbed it. The horn sank deeply into the monster's flesh, right above its ribcage. The monster hissed, similar to how Mr. Hammond had, and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. After a moment, it disintegrated right before Anne’s eyes.</p><p>The Minotaur was gone.</p><p>Anne nearly collapsed. Her adrenaline was no longer pumping and her body ached with exhaustion. Fighting the urge to lay down next to Jerry, she grabbed her sword and scooped Jerry up, dragging him towards the sign that said "CAMP HALF-BLOOD."</p><p>Battered and bruised, she stumbled through the gates of the camp before crumbling to the ground and passing out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I had just finished watching anne with an e when I heard about disney+ producing a percy jackson tv series and I immediately knew I needed to mesh the two of them together heheh</p><p>(this fic is gonna loosely follow the events of the first Percy Jackson book but obviously with that anne shirley twist)</p><p>thank you so much for reading! I hope u enjoyed :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. a new start</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>anne gets a tour and meets some fellow campers</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Anne woke up and her vision slowly came to, she saw two unfamiliar faces looking down at her. She blinked quickly, trying to register what she was looking at.</p><p>One was a pretty girl with beautiful brown hair that framed her face and big friendly eyes perfectly. The other was a boy with dark hair, grey eyes, and handsome features. They looked excited to see her awake but she sat up quickly and backed away from them.</p><p>“Who are you people? How long have I been here?” Anne demanded, “Where am I?”</p><p>The girl smiled. “You’re at camp half-blood, Anne. You’re safe,” she said, her voice calm and soothing.</p><p>“Camp half-blood? The place Jerry was talking about? Oh my god, is Jerry alright? Where is he?” Anne tried to get up from the cot but the boy stopped her by softly holding her down.</p><p>“Wait, you really shouldn’t move around too much. That fight with the Minotaur drained you and you still need to rest,” he told Anne before turning to the other girl, “Diana, will you go find Jerry?”</p><p>Diana nodded. She flashed a quick smile at Anne and ran off.</p><p>Anne took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, feeling better now that she knew Jerry wasn’t hurt or anything. She glanced around the room she was in and tried to take in her surroundings. The cabin was like an infirmary of some sorts. She saw a few other people close to her in age lying in cots as well.</p><p>“So, I <em>didn’t</em> imagine all of that? The Minotaur, the Fury… all of that was real?” Anne asked finally.</p><p>The boy nodded. “I don’t know how much Jerry was able to tell you before… all of that happened, but most of us demigods never even get the opportunity to fight a monster like that. Let alone <em>the Minotaur</em>.” He stared at her in awe, “How did you do it?”</p><p>Anne shrugged, “I don’t know, it just happened... I got lucky, I suppose?”</p><p>The boy had to force himself to hide his smile. She was so clueless, it was cute.</p><p>“Or maybe natural skill?” The boy offered.</p><p>Anne sent him a small smile and shrugged again.</p><p>“I’m Gilbert Blythe, by the way. Son of Athena.” His grey eyes glimmered.</p><p>“Athena? As in the goddess of wisdom and battle? <em>She’s</em> your mom?” Anne couldn’t believe it.</p><p>“Yep. But I wouldn’t really call her my mother. I’ve never met her and she doesn’t even send me cards on my birthday,” Gilbert half-joked.</p><p>Anne blinked at him in confusion, not fully understanding the weight of the joke.</p><p>“So if you’re a… demigod, what does that make me?” asked Anne.</p><p>“You’re a demigod too. Like me,” he told her, “One of your parents is a Greek god or goddess.”</p><p>“But that doesn’t make sense. Both my parents are dead.”</p><p>Gilbert sighed. “Let me guess. Dyslexia? ADHD? Constantly moving from place to place, never really finding somewhere to call home?”</p><p>Anne was floored. He really hit the nail on the coffin. Was she that easy to read?</p><p>“Those are all attributes of demigods,” he continued, “The dyslexia? Your brain is hardwired to read Ancient Greek. And the ADHD? That’s cause your senses are heightened and you have natural reflexes and instinct for battle. And you never felt like you found your place because you’re not a mortal, you don’t belong in the mortal world. All of these things are from your half-God side, Anne. You’re a demigod.”</p><p>If this was true, Anne definitely felt a little better about herself. Hearing that something she was bullied for throughout her life actually made her really cool was a confidence booster.</p><p>“So then who’s my godly parent?” Anne wondered.</p><p>“I’m not sure. It takes some time for a god to claim one of their kids, but for a lot of demigods, they have some sort of feature that gives a hint about their parent. My grey eyes, for example, are obviously Athena,” he explained.</p><p>“Do I have any obvious characteristics?”</p><p>Gilbert gazed at her thoughtfully.</p><p>“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a demigod with red hair, it’s not very common,” he admitted.</p><p>Anne immediately grew irritated by this statement. Even in this crazy mythological world with monsters and gods she was unusual.</p><p>“Well, maybe you should use your so-called wisdom and figure it out!” she snapped.</p><p>Gilbert was taken aback by Anne’s sudden outburst.</p><p>“I can try to look into it, if you want, but there’s really no record of demigods with red ha-”</p><p>Anne cut him off. “It’s fine. I’ll just wait until I’m claimed, or whatever it is you called it,” she grumbled, annoyed by his childish jab at her hair.</p><p><em>Fiery red hair to match her fiery temper</em>, Gilbert thought to himself with a chuckle. He didn’t take offense to her anger towards him though. He actually found it kind of endearing.</p><p>After a moment of silence, Gilbert opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when Diana burst through the door, followed by a disgruntled Jerry and Miss. Stacy.</p><p>“Jerry!” Anne cried out, “I’m so happy you’re okay.”</p><p>Jerry rushed to her bedside and threw his arms around her. “No, I’m happy <em>you’re</em> okay. You could’ve died and it would’ve been all my fault. I’m so sorry, Anne.”</p><p>“What are you talking about? It wasn’t your fault at all,” Anne replied.</p><p>Jerry shook his head. “No. It was my job to protect you and I failed. I passed out like a dumbass,” he whined, “It was like being at Hercules High School all over again except this was a life or death situation!”</p><p>Anne sighed and patted his head. She nearly jumped when her hand grazed against two tiny horns on the top of his head. <em>Right</em>, she thought, <em>he’s a satyr. A half goat man.</em></p><p>Jerry pulled away from her, sniffling. Anne glanced up and gasped when she saw Miss. Stacy standing there, looking as beautiful as ever.</p><p>“Miss. Stacy? Wh-what are you doing here?”</p><p>Miss. Stacy smiled at her kindly. “I run this camp,” she stated calmly.</p><p>Anne was shell shocked. “I thought you were just a really cool English teacher.”</p><p>“I suppose the correct term would be a nymph,” Miss. Stacy explained, “A nymph in charge of raising and protecting demigods… Actually, I was the one who sent Jerry to watch over you. After he met you, he told me something felt different about you so I decided to come check you out for myself.”</p><p>“That day… you knew something was gonna happen to me, didn’t you? Thats why you gave me the pen.” Anne said.</p><p>Miss. Stacy nodded. “It was more of a feeling, but yes. Jerry and I knew something was coming, we just weren’t sure when.”</p><p>“Jerry’s not in any trouble, is he? I mean, he really protected me well and took care of me for the past two years,” Anne said.</p><p>Jerry sent Anne a grateful smile.</p><p>“We know. Jerry did a great job. Even though getting you here was a bit rocky, all that matters is that you’re here alive in the first place,” Miss. Stacy assured them.</p><p>Diana who had been standing there watching everything unfold couldn’t hold in her excitement any longer.</p><p>“The fact that you killed not only one but <em>two </em>monsters without any prior knowledge or training is so badass, Anne. I feel so blessed by your presence, right now, I don’t know what to do with myself!” exclaimed Diana.</p><p>“Don’t mind Diana, she’s always been one for the dramatics,” Gilbert told Anne.</p><p>Anne rolled her eyes at Gilbert. She guessed being a child of Athena meant you must be a know-it-all too. Instead, she turned to Diana.</p><p>“It was kinda badass, wasn’t it?” Anne admitted with a grin.</p><p>“Kind of? It was LEGENDARY!” Diana said enthusiastically before holding out her hand, “Diana Barry, daughter of Apollo.”</p><p>Anne looked at Diana in awe. Apollo. <em>No wonder she carries herself with such grace</em>, Anne thought to herself. She graciously shook Diana's hand, deciding in that moment that she was going to be her best friend.</p><p>Miss. Stacy chuckled. “Anne, I’m sure Gilbert filled you in on everything?”</p><p>“He filled me in on enough. But I was able to put the rest of the pieces together myself,” Anne said. She sent Gilbert a look who just smiled good-naturedly at her in return.</p><p>Miss. Stacy turned to Gilbert. “Gilbert, could you show Anne around camp and help get her settled in? If Anne’s feeling up to it, of course.”</p><p>Not too pleased with Miss. Stacy’s choice of tour guide, Anne <em>was</em> overwhelmed with curiosity to see this so-called demigod training ground.</p><p>“I <em>would</em> like to see the rest of the camp,” Anne said.</p><p>Gilbert offered to help Anne out of bed but she swatted him away.</p><p>~</p><p>Anne felt like she was in a dream as Gilbert led her around camp. It was like something right out of her imagination. She was pretty sure she had dreamt up a place like Camp Half-Blood when she was young in an attempt to escape her tragically sad life.</p><p>Around them were people sword fighting and practicing for battle. The demigods who weren’t training were playing games or forging weapons.</p><p>Anne imagined she was walking through the Acropolis in Athens. She was amazed when she saw the huge amphitheater and arena that somehow fit inside the camp. The camp seemed so much smaller when she arrived the other night. Then again, she <em>was</em> being chased by a bloodthirsty monster so maybe her misjudgment of the size of the camp was warranted.</p><p>“And over here are the 12 cabins. One dedicated to each god,” Gilbert pointed out.</p><p>All of the cabins seemed so lively and bright except for a few.</p><p>“Why are those empty?” Anne asked him. She gestured towards the three cabins on the far end of the camp.</p><p>“Oh, well that one with the flowers is Hera’s cabin. She doesn’t really mess with mortals so of course that means no demigod children for her. Her cabin’s more ceremonial, you could say,” Gilbert told her.</p><p>“And the two cabins at the end?”</p><p>“Poseidon and Zeus,” Gilbert answered quickly, “you know, two of the Big Three gods.”</p><p>“But I thought they had tons of children, like in myths and all that?” Anne wondered aloud.</p><p>"The children of the Big Three were more powerful than anyone could possibly imagine,” Gilbert explained, “They… attracted dangerous monsters from the depths of Tartarus and had more powers than entire armies of demigods combined. To protect the world and to keep Olympus balanced, the Big Three made an oath to stop fraternizing with mortals.”</p><p>“Okay, that makes sense… but why doesn’t Hades have a cabin?” Anne pressed. Always so curious this one.</p><p>“Zeus and Poseidon aren’t the biggest fans of their brother.”</p><p>Satisfied with this newfound knowledge, Anne urged Gilbert on, “so where am I staying then?”</p><p>Before Gilbert could lead her to the cabin, a group of girls interrupted the tour. One of them looked visibly upset- were those tears streaming down her face? As a few girls consoled the crying girl, one of them stepped forward, an angry expression on her face. She had long, blonde hair and the face of a model. Anne could immediately tell that her mother was Aphrodite.</p><p>“Real nice, Gilbert,” the girl said, her tone accusatory, “you truly don’t respect Ruby, do you? She’s busy with the Harvest for just a few days and you go and do this? Flirt with the new girl?”</p><p>Gilbert was clearly confused. “Josie, what are you talking-”</p><p>“And you!” The girl Anne presumed to be Josie turned to face her, “you’re here not even five minutes and you’re already trying to make moves on a boy who another girl likes?”</p><p>“Woah, woah, what? I’m not doing that!” Anne sputtered defensively.</p><p>“You must be because Ruby hasn’t stopped crying since she saw you two together!” Josie roared, motioning towards Ruby’s red puffy eyes.</p><p>The other girls glared at Anne in defense of their friend.</p><p>Both Anne and Gilbert had no idea what to say. But luckily, Diana Barry came outside just in time to see the whole ordeal unfolding.</p><p>Before Josie could berate Anne even more, Diana hurried over to the group with her arms waving.</p><p>“You got it all wrong, Josie!” Diana proclaimed, “Miss. Stacy asked him to give her a tour of the camp.”</p><p>The group of girls stared at Diana.</p><p>“She’s had a rough few days and needs help adjusting, guys. Give her a break,” Diana continued, “I mean, not many people fight the Minotaur and live to tell the story!”</p><p>Anne was extremely thankful for Diana. Other than Jerry, she’d never had someone defend her like that.</p><p>With a huff and a flip of her hair, Josie sent one last glare in Anne’s direction and rejoined her friends. Gilbert tugged Anne along, not missing the looks the girls continued to send them.</p><p>“Sorry about that,” Gilbert said, scratching his head, “Daughters of Aphrodite can be… dramatic.”</p><p>“They’re all Aphrodite’s children?” Anne asked.</p><p>“Not all of them. Ruby’s a daughter of Demeter,” Gilbert replied.</p><p>Anne decided she needed to remember that for later on and tucked it into her memory.</p><p>“And you and Ruby…?” She didn’t mean anything by asking this, she was just curious.</p><p>“Not together,” he stated plainly.</p><p>Finally, Gilbert took her to cabin 11, Hermes’ cabin, which was where all the undetermined demigods lived. He helped her set up her bed. Unsurprisingly, Anne didn’t have much to unpack other than Miss. Stacy’s pen and the Minotaur horn.</p><p>Gilbert introduced her to a few of the campers who lived in cabin 11, several being unclaimed or children of Hermes themselves. They were all relatively nice but didn’t seem like they wanted to be friends with her.</p><p>“And that’s Roy over there. He’s the head of this cabin,” Gilbert said.</p><p>Anne looked over at Roy. He was a bit older, tall and handsome with curly brown hair and kind eyes. Anne felt the heat rising to her cheeks when he noticed them and made his way over.</p><p>“Gilbert! Who’s this?” Roy asked, smiling genuinely at Anne.</p><p>“I’m Anne,” she said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear. God, what was wrong with her? She never got like this around boys.</p><p>Beside her, Gilbert found himself feeling strangely upset with how immediately taken by Roy she was.</p><p>Gritting his teeth, Gilbert forced a friendly smile. “Anne is undetermined so she’ll be staying in this cabin for the time being.”</p><p>“Sounds good!” Roy exclaimed. He put an arm around Anne and led her out the door, “I’m sure you’ll love it. We’re like a big family here.”</p><p>Anne blushed, internally kicking herself in the shin for acting like this.</p><p>“There’s one more place I need to show you,” Gilbert said, hiding his annoyance, “Let’s get going.”</p><p>Irritated by Gilbert’s interruption, Anne sighed and followed him down the steps of the cabin and towards the big building on the other side of the camp. She assumed it was the mess hall.</p><p>But before they could reach the building, another group of demigods intruded on the tour. This time, however, it was a group of boys. From the Ares cabin.<br/><em>Great,</em> Anne thought to herself, <em>what is it this time?</em></p><p>Gilbert stiffened when the obvious ringleader stepped forward.</p><p>He had the most punchable face Anne had ever seen, in her opinion, and walked up to her like he himself was a god.</p><p>“So nice of you to show this little bitch around, Blythe,” the boy laughed, “Athena’s boys are always doing charity work, eh?”</p><p>“Billy, can you just leave us alone?” Gilbert muttered.</p><p>“What’d you just call me?” Anne demanded.</p><p>All of a sudden, she was back at the orphanage and at Hercules High School, arguing and fighting with bullies who found some sick joy in making her life a living hell. She scoffed to herself, embarrassed that she even thought for a second that this place would be different.</p><p>“You think you’re real brave, huh? Just cause you fought the Minotaur? As if the only reason you’re not dead right now isn’t pure luck,” Billy said, causing his friends around him to laugh.</p><p>Gilbert clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to bring his fist to Billy’s face. What a bunch of mindless followers.</p><p>“It wasn’t luck,” Anne said, her voice shaky.</p><p>The boys burst into laughter over this.</p><p>“Blythe, you hearing this?” One of the boys said.</p><p>“She’s stealing the action from the real men,” another boy added.</p><p>“And people really thought <em>you </em>were <em>the one </em>who was gonna fulfill the prophecy… that’s some bullshit if I ever heard it,” Billy continued.</p><p>Prophecy? Anne didn’t have time to think about that because with every insult, she could feel something hot boiling inside of her at the pit of her stomach. Whatever it was filled her insides with a burning feeling of anger. It felt like it was rising up to her throat.</p><p>“Now that I’m looking at you, all I see is some scrawny bitch with ugly red hair,” Billy spat.</p><p>That’s it. Gilbert had heard enough. “Billy, that’s eno-”</p><p>Suddenly, there was a bright flash of sparks that caused the ground to shake, sending shockwaves through Gilbert’s body. He stumbled backwards but not before seeing the entire Ares cabin fall to the ground, shouting in pain.</p><p>Eyes wide, Gilbert glanced over to see if Anne was alright. He was even more shocked to see she was perfectly fine.</p><p>Instead, she looked at Gilbert, her eyes just as wide as his. Did she do that?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know I know, so much to unpack here. sorry there's a lot of world building and establishing going on but it'll get more interesting soon!! also 2 chapters in one day.. im having so much fun writing this tbh</p><p>who do we think anne is the daughter of??</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. anne shirley vs the world (aka billy andrews)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Anne couldn’t believe her eyes.</p>
<p>In an instant, the boys from the Ares cabin had crumbled to the ground, holding their stomachs and crying out in pain. It only took a few seconds of inflicted pain for them to switch from tough men to weak little boys.</p>
<p>And it was Anne’s doing. As much as she didn’t want to believe it.</p>
<p>Don’t get her wrong, she wanted to hurt them but she didn’t think she’d be able to with her <em>mind</em>. Logically, how could she have done that? She never experienced any inclination of otherworldly powers before, so maybe the whole ordeal was just a sheer coincidence.</p>
<p>“It’s like I’m being shocked over and over,” one of the boys moaned.</p>
<p>Humiliated, Billy tried to compose himself and stand up but he was too dizzy from the pain. His face turned pale and he bent over, throwing up all over the ground. Anne’s hand flew up to her mouth as she tried to hide the fact that she was laughing.</p>
<p>She glanced over at Gilbert who was also stifling a laugh. When he met her gaze, she looked away.</p>
<p>The other campers looked on at the scene in complete awe. Had the new girl really just brought Billy and his band of bullies to their knees within seconds of meeting them?</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>“So that’s really never happened to you before?” Diana asked her, amazed.</p>
<p>She sat down across from Anne. The two girls sat alone in the corner of the mess hall, eating dinner together.</p>
<p>The rest of the campers had steered clear of Anne since the whole Billy thing. Word spread quickly and while some of the campers were amazed by her, several others saw her more as a nuisance than a hero. Not to mention the fact that Josie, Ruby, and the other girls were still convinced Anne and Gilbert were secretly a thing, even though Anne absolutely despised him.</p>
<p>For the past week, Anne had tried her best to keep a low profile. Over the short time she had been at camp, she’d adapted pretty quickly. Jerry was busy meeting with the council or something (Anne didn’t really understand any of the satyr stuff Jerry talked about) and she hadn’t seen Diana much because Diana was still friends with the Aphrodite girls, so Anne busied herself with training and studying. Gilbert had been helping Anne study Ancient Greek, despite how much she told him she didn’t need his help. He even offered to help her learn how to fight better.</p>
<p>As much as she hated to admit it, Anne knew that if she wanted to catch up to the other demigods in terms of battle skills and general knowledge, she needed Gilbert’s help. Especially since he was the head counselor of the Athena cabin which meant he knew his way through a book and around the battlefield. She also knew that the Ares cabin were definitely plotting their revenge against her and she needed to be prepared for when they attacked.</p>
<p>Anne shook her head. “Nope. I barely even know what happened in the first place! One moment I was filled with <em>rage</em> and the next they were all on the ground.”</p>
<p>“I wish I could’ve seen it happen. I’ve been waiting so long for someone to finally put Billy Andrews in his place,” said Diana wistfully.</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you ever? I’m sure you could take him down easily,” Anne replied.</p>
<p>Diana laughed. “What could I do? Sing to him? I’m pretty decent with a sword and can hold my own in a fight but I’d be no match against a child of Ares.”</p>
<p>“Don’t work harder, work smarter,” Anne said matter-of-factly, “Sing him to sleep and then shave off all his hair. I bet that would scar him more than a couple sword wounds would.”</p>
<p>“Anne Shirley, where have you been all my life?” Diana mused.</p>
<p>The two girls giggled. They were laughing about something else when Gilbert walked by, an apple in his hand. The moment he stopped by their table, Anne completely changed her demeanor.</p>
<p>“I’ll see you later, Anne?” inquired Gilbert.</p>
<p>Anne nodded calmly, “Yep. I’ll meet you at the arena.”</p>
<p>“See you then,” he said with a smile. He sent a nod in Diana’s direction before walking out of the mess hall.</p>
<p>“You know, I’ve never seen Gilbert Blythe smile so much until you got here,” Diana said after he was gone. A knowing expression was on her face.</p>
<p>Anne scoffed, “What are you talking about? We’re not even friends.”</p>
<p>“I’m not implying anything like <em>that</em>. It’s just something I’ve noticed,” teased Diana.</p>
<p>“Well, unnotice it, Diana. I can’t stand him. He thinks he knows everything about everything and it’s so… infuriating! Every time I mess up or get something wrong, he always has this stupid expression on his face. And his eyes are basically oozing with pretentiousness!” exclaimed Anne, “Did you know he made fun of my hair?”</p>
<p>Diana rolled her eyes. “I bet you just misinterpreted what he said. He’s one of the nicest people here.”</p>
<p>Anne thought about all of the people she’d met so far. Like Billy, Josie, and their followers. There’s not much of a competition there. So she concluded that Diana just meant Gilbert was the lesser of two evils in this case.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>Anne walked out into the arena, dressed in her armor and determined to not make a fool of herself today. She already had a few lessons with Gilbert and was quickly improving. But no matter how much she practiced, she just couldn’t beat him. She always ended up in the dirt, leaving the arena with both her butt and pride bruised.</p>
<p>Gilbert had been teaching her some good defensive techniques but today he decided he should show her some more offensive tricks. He demonstrated a way to get the opponent to lose control and drop their weapon. Using the flat of his sword, he twisted Anne’s sword and caused it to fall onto the ground. Anne understood the trick immediately.</p>
<p>“Now you try,” Gilbert told her.</p>
<p>Anne nodded and took a step forward.</p>
<p>“So I just…” she slowly imitated what he had just shown her. His sword fell and landed on the ground.</p>
<p>“Exactly,” Gilbert said.</p>
<p>Anne let out an excited squeal, “Oh wow! That was so… exhilarating!”</p>
<p>When she noticed Gilbert looking at her funny, she quickly wiped the smile off her face and cleared her throat.</p>
<p>“Can we try it again?” suggested Anne.</p>
<p>“Yeah, this time we’ll try it in an actual fight. Try to disarm me.”</p>
<p>The two got into position and their swords started clanging against one another. Anne successfully avoided Gilbert’s jabs, even managing to deflect several of his attacks. She was honestly glad he was not going easy on her.</p>
<p>A wave of determination washed over her, pushing her to counter his attacks by acting on offense. She stepped forward and took a few thrusts at him which he deflected with his shield. Thinking on her feet, she waited for the perfect moment until… <em>CLANG</em>! She successfully executed the disarming technique and watched in pure disbelief as his sword fell to the ground.</p>
<p>“Oh my god!” Anne squealed again, overwhelmed with joy. She practically threw herself at Gilbert and crushed him in a hug, jumping up and down in excitement.</p>
<p>When her excitement subsided, it slowly dawned on her that she had her arms around him. Mortified, she quickly pushed him away.</p>
<p>“I- sorry,” she said quickly, “I got carried away.”</p>
<p>Gilbert smiled that stupid smile of his, his grey eyes twinkling in the sunlight. Anne was so embarrassed, she wanted to deck him right then and there.</p>
<p>“I don’t mind,” Gilbert said.</p>
<p>Anne stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond to that or why her heart was beating so fast.</p>
<p>Her racing thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice broke the silence.</p>
<p>“You’re improving so much!”</p>
<p>She whipped around to see Roy standing at the entrance to the arena. He made his way over to her and Gilbert, a huge grin on his face. She blushed as he got closer to them.</p>
<p>“Gilbert, you’re doing an awesome job of training her,” Roy said, slapping Gilbert on the back, “And Anne, you’re just a natural.”</p>
<p>Anne’s face flushed. She was already sweating from the training but Roy’s praise just made her face burn even more. Roy was really nice to her. He always checked in on her and made sure she was doing alright. In defiance of her conversation with Diana earlier, Anne made a mental note to tell Diana that she thought Roy was the nicest camper she had met thus far.</p>
<p>Gilbert pressed his lips together into a forced smile. Roy was one of his good friends but ever since Anne arrived, Gilbert couldn’t help but feel annoyed by Roy’s presence whenever he was with Anne.</p>
<p>“Anyways, I just wanted to stop by and remind Gilbert to come up with the strategy for capture the flag tomorrow,” Roy said.</p>
<p>“Capture the flag?” Anne asked, intrigued.</p>
<p>“It’s a tradition. And it's also really good for training. The whole camp plays,” Gilbert informed her.</p>
<p>“The two teams are led by the Ares cabin and the Athena cabin,” Roy added, “Gilbert always makes the plan cause he’s the best battle strategist at camp half-blood.” He winked at Gilbert who just laughed the compliment off.</p>
<p>Anne was impressed but she refused to show it.</p>
<p>“And everyone plays?”</p>
<p>Roy nodded. “Usually newcomers sit out the first game but I think you’re ready. Right, Gil?”</p>
<p>“Definitely,” Gilbert agreed. He suddenly had an idea.</p>
<p>Anne grinned, feeling a burst of excitement for tomorrow’s game. She was going to have to read up on capture the flag before bed tonight.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>The next day, Anne could feel the excited buzz all throughout camp. The atmosphere had shifted completely. She guessed that people were really into capture the flag.</p>
<p>“You aren’t nervous?” Jerry asked her, incredulous.</p>
<p>The two of them sat at the dock on the lake near camp, their legs dangling right over the water. It was a lovely day. With the bright blue sky and the crisp air, there was not a single cloud in sight. Anne stared at her reflection in the water.</p>
<p>She shrugged. “Not really. I’ve gotten pretty good at fighting. Although I’m nowhere near as good as most of the campers here, I think I could handle myself in combat pretty well.”</p>
<p>“I guess that makes sense. A lot of things have always come naturally for you,” Jerry noted.</p>
<p>She raised her eyebrow at this. “Please, that’s quite an exaggeration.”</p>
<p>“Hey, I’m just trying to raise your spirits before I tell you something that might scare you,” Jerry said.</p>
<p>“What is it?” Anne inquired.</p>
<p>“If you stumble across Billy during the game, be sure to steer clear of him,” warned Jerry, “he has this awful weapon, this electric spear from <em>hell</em>. It’s sent so many campers to the infirmary, I’ve lost count.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be fine,” Anne replied confidently.</p>
<p>“He won’t hold back, Anne. Especially since he’s had it out for you ever since last week,” Jerry reminded her.</p>
<p>“I know, I know,” she beamed at Jerry, “Thanks for worrying about me though.”</p>
<p>She lightly punched him on the arm, swinging her legs back in forth.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>After dinner, the campers all gathered right outside the woods. It was still light outside.</p>
<p>Anne stood with the rest of the campers, dressed in her armor. The Ares led team was dressed in red armor while the Athena led team was dressed in blue. She looked around and awkwardly readjusted her helmet, feeling kind of silly. Everyone was so serious. Hyped and excited, but so deadly serious.</p>
<p>She made the mistake of making eye contact with Billy Andrews who looked at her like he was some sort of predator and she was his unlucky prey. Remembering what Jerry had told her, she glanced at the sharp tipped spear that he clutched in his right hand. That’s when the nerves started to set in.</p>
<p>Miss. Stacy and a centaur, known by the campers as Bash, stood in the center of the crowd. Anne eyed Bash’s lower half, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that centaurs are actually real creatures.</p>
<p>“I know you’re all excited, but remember the rules. No maiming and no killing,” Miss. Stacy declared, her voice echoing throughout the woods.</p>
<p>“We know you all look forward to this game every year, but please at least<em> try</em> not to kill each other,” Bash added.</p>
<p>Anne waited for them to laugh or show any sign that they were just joking about the killing part, but they didn’t. She gulped, suddenly understanding how serious this game was.</p>
<p>She caught the eye of Diana, who was also in blue armor. Diana pushed through the crowd to get to Anne.</p>
<p>"Are you ready?" Diana asked her.</p>
<p>"I think so," Anna responded warily, "do you know where we're supposed to go?"</p>
<p>"I have my position," Diana said, "Find Gilbert and he'll tell you what to do! Good luck!"</p>
<p>Diana gave Anne a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing among the other blue armored demigods.</p>
<p>Out of nowhere, Gilbert appeared next to Anne and pulled her to the side.</p>
<p>“Anne, when Bash blows the horn, go to the creek and stay there. Be prepared to fight off anyone who tries to get passed you,” he told her.</p>
<p>She nodded, relieved to know she has a position too. “Okay. And what will you do?”</p>
<p>Gilbert smirked, “Well, I’m gonna capture the flag.”</p>
<p>Anne rolled her eyes. How conceited of him.</p>
<p>Before she could argue with him, she heard the horn blaring. Having decided that she didn’t want to be the new girl who screwed up her team’s entire plan, she opted to just do what Gilbert told her to do. He <em>was</em> the best battle strategist at the camp, according to Roy.</p>
<p>The campers scattered and ran off to their ranks. Without thinking, Anne started to sprint, her feet carrying her over rocks and tree trunks. As she made her way towards the creek, she could see flashes of red and blue through the tree branches, followed by shouts in the distance.</p>
<p>She made it to the creek without running into any other campers. Out of breath, she sat down on a big boulder and waited. Waited for whatever to come charging at her.</p>
<p>Anne felt like she was sitting there for an eternity. At one point, she wished that some weak kid from Aphrodite’s cabin would stumble upon her so she could at least get <em>some</em> fighting in. But it was quiet. There was no one coming.</p>
<p>She suddenly felt heat burning in her cheeks- anger and embarrassment. Gilbert set her up so she wouldn’t have to fight anyone! Or maybe he didn’t want her getting in the way! She should’ve just sat the game out so she could have at least saved herself the humiliation instead of just being here for decoration.</p>
<p>Did Gilbert really believe she couldn’t handle herself in a fight?</p>
<p>“Gilbert Blythe, you complete <em>asshole!</em>” she grumbled, angrily stabbing her sword into the dirt.</p>
<p>And to think, she was beginning to think that he didn’t actually think so lowly of her.</p>
<p>“Ugh! I hate you, Gilbert Blythe!” she muttered to herself, yanking her sword out of the dirt.</p>
<p>“Lover’s spat?” A voice said from behind her.</p>
<p>Startled, Anne turned around to see Billy Andrews and five other people from his cabin standing on the other side of the creek. She felt her heart sink into her stomach. Uh oh.</p>
<p>“When that kid from Demeter’s cabin said he thought he saw the new girl alone at the creek, I thought he was lying,” Billy said. A twisted smile appear on his face, “I’m glad to see I was proven wrong.’</p>
<p>Billy and company took a few steps towards Anne.</p>
<p>“Hardly a fair fight, don’t you think?” Anne said, trying to sound confident and most likely failing miserably.</p>
<p>Billy chuckled. “All’s fair in love and war, carrot top. Especially when it comes to people who’ve humiliated our entire cabin.”</p>
<p>Anne found herself surrounded by six vengeful children of Ares who have years of experience on her and would probably kill her without any remorse. She gulped and raised her sword.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. no maiming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>WARNING: GORE</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now Anne had found herself in plenty of situations similar to this one before. She’d dealt with bullies like Billy all throughout her life. But then again, those bullies only wanted to break her spirit- these wanted to send her to the infirmary.</p><p>For a moment, she thought back to when she was at the orphanage and the mean girls would cut the heads and limbs off of her dolls. They would leave the mutilated body parts on her bed as a way to torment her even more. And she would cry and cry and cry until the orphanage mother would yell at her.</p><p>She used to think that was the worst thing anyone could do to a person. But now, as she looked on at the hungry faces of the Ares boys with their weapons raised, things were really put into perspective for her.</p><p>Anne was fighting solely on instinct. The moment the Ares cabin started coming at her, all of the training and battle skills she had learned completely exited her brain. The only thing that mattered was survival and her odds were not great.</p><p>She managed to dodge several swings, thrusting her sword forward into one of Billy’s sidekicks before hitting another stocky kid with the butt of her sword. She even blocked several of the attacks with her shield. However, she knew she was a goner as soon as she saw the smug expression on Billy’s face. He stood there and watched as his minions attacked Anne, waiting for his chance to use his favorite weapon on her.</p><p>One of the Ares kids nicked her shoulder with the tip of his sword, just as another sliced her pretty deeply above the knee. Anne winced in pain, already exhausted from the 5-on-1 combat. She was pissed- they were purposely aiming for parts of her body that weren’t protected by armor to make a point.</p><p>She didn’t want them to see her feeling weak or scared, but when she caught sight of Billy taking a few steps forward and gripping his deadly spear in his hand with great delicacy and entitlement, she felt her stomach lurch.</p><p>“This is what happens when you piss off the best fighters at camp half-blood. You get your ass kicked,” Billy said with a condescending smile. He was taunting her.</p><p>“No maiming,” Anne reminded him weakly, eying his spear.</p><p>“Frankly carrot-top, I don’t give a fuck,” he replied before thrusting his spear forward.</p><p>Anne briskly side stepped him, doing her best to avoid the wrath of that electric spear. She managed to block some of the advances of the other Ares kids with her shield, but she reminded herself to keep an eye on that spear. As she begun to lose hope of getting out of this fight alive, she had to reassure herself that she had taken on monsters like the Minotaur and the Fury and survived, without any prior training.</p><p>Anne managed to avoid several more of Billy’s advances, but her energy was dwindling. Her knees felt wobbly and weak, as if she could crumble to the ground at any given moment. In the midst of her ordeal, she could have sworn she heard some sort of animal howl coming from somewhere in the forest, but maybe that was just delusion brought on by her exhaustion.</p><p>She took her eyes off of Billy for just a brief moment to fight off two Ares boys who had charged her together. That was a mistake.</p><p>Billy saw his chance and sprang forward. Anne turned back around just as he jabbed his spear right into her ribcage. She knew her armor would protect her from being <em>killed</em>, but she also knew that she would be electrocuted. She braced herself for the pain and closed her eyes tightly, accepting her fate.</p><p>But something happened.</p><p>As soon as the spear hit her armor, Anne felt power surge throughout her body. She suddenly felt revitalized…<em> powerful</em>.</p><p>The stupid smirk on Billy’s face was wiped away. “What the fu…”</p><p>He watched in horror as Anne remained unaffected by the electric spear. He was even more horrified when her eyes started to glow and the air around her body seemed to spark. Frozen in fear, he couldn’t do anything as she snatched his spear from him.</p><p>Using his spear and her newfound energy, she easily took down the other boys before pointing the spear at Billy who shook with fear.</p><p>“Anne, please. I’m sor-”</p><p>Without hesitating, Anne jammed the spear against his chest (which was protected by armor, of course). The electricity was sent through Billy’s body and he crumpled to the ground, wailing out in pain.</p><p>Anne stumbled backwards, the exhaustion catching up to her again. She dropped the spear and looked at the carnage around her. Once again, she had brought the Ares cabin to their knees. Wow.</p><p>She weakly made her way back to the boulder she was sitting on earlier and sat down, too tired to celebrate this personal victory.</p><p>Speaking of victories, Anne heard cheering and the sound of feet running on the dirt. Out of the trees, she saw Gilbert appear as him and Roy triumphantly carried the red team’s flag and led the blue team to victory. The team’s celebration was interrupted when they saw Anne with Billy and his friends knocked out on the ground.</p><p>The rest of the red team had just arrived at the creek border, looking defeated as soon as they saw the blue team with their flag. They noticed Billy on the ground and looked at Anne in shock.</p><p>Anne was about to say something and explain what had happened when she locked eyes with Gilbert. It suddenly dawned on her what his plan was this whole time. She furiously stormed over to him, ignoring Diana who reached out to her and tried to stop her.</p><p>“What the hell, Gilbert?” she shouted.</p><p>Roy stood beside Gilbert, somehow finding amusement in the situation at hand. Anne was too fixated on calling out Gilbert to notice him.</p><p>“What?” Gilbert asked her, eyes wide.</p><p>“You set me up!” accused Anne, “You used me as a distraction so that Billy would leave his position and you could get the flag.”</p><p>“Well, maybe I-”</p><p>Anne cut him off. “Just admit it. You knew Billy would try to find me.”</p><p>“Anne, I doubt Gilbert would deliberately try to put you in a situation that would hurt you,” Diana interjected in an attempt to ease the situation. She looked at Gilbert desperately, practically begging him with her eyes to not say something that would upset Anne even more.</p><p>Gilbert sighed and shook his head. “I figured that placing you strategically near the creek would peak Billy’s interest and in turn, we’d be able to get the flag,” he admitted.</p><p>Miss. Stacy and Bash arrived on the scene, just in time to hear Anne berating Gilbert. Meanwhile, the boys Anne had obliterated earlier had come to and gotten back on their feet, utterly embarrassed.</p><p>“Well, thanks to you, they slashed me up and Billy nearly <em>fried </em>me!” Anne snapped, royally pissed off.</p><p>“Anne, I swear I thought we’d get the flag in time for me to help you fight him off,” Gilbert paused and looked around, impressed, “but clearly you didn’t need my help. You’re not even injured.”</p><p>“You should have at least told me of your plan so I could have been prepared!” Anne yelled, but his words confused her. She looked down at her knee and almost gasped when she saw that her wound had disappeared.</p><p>Gilbert scratched his head. “…Perhaps that would have been a much smarter idea.”</p><p>“Yeah, goddess of wisdom <em>my ass</em>,” she mumbled, still wondering how she could have healed so quickly.</p><p>“I think this is a good lesson for everyone,” Miss. Stacy said to all of the campers gathered around Anne and Gilbert, “You should always make sure everyone is in on the strategy. You are a team after all.”</p><p>Anne was satisfied with this response and made sure to send Gilbert a very pointed look.</p><p>Before Gilbert could apologize, however, a canine howl rippled through the forest- the same noise Anne had heard sworn she heard earlier, but this time<em> much</em> closer.</p><p>A collective hush fell amongst the campers. Anne felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the ear-splitting visceral sound.</p><p>“Stand ready, my bow!” Bash shouted.</p><p>Everyone drew their swords.</p><p>Out of the woods appeared a black doglike creature, similar to the huge size of the Minotaur, with fangs as big as a human’s hand. Its red eyes were glossy and hauntingly vicious- they seemed to be glaring right at Anne.</p><p>“Anne, run!” Gilbert yelled.</p><p>But Anne didn’t have time to listen to Gilbert. The creature leapt right over the rest of the campers and body slammed into her, its claws ripping through her armor and sending her flying backwards. The pain was excruciating- Anne had never felt something like it before.</p><p>Then suddenly, the monster was dead. Bash had shot several arrows into its neck.</p><p>Anne cried out in pain as she lied on the ground. She was too afraid to look down at the butchery, knowing full well that her chest must be ripped to shreds. She shakily brought her hand up to her upper stomach and felt warm and wet blood on her fingertips.</p><p>Diana and Gilbert were kneeling at her side in an instant, followed by Bash and Miss. Stacy.</p><p>“That’s a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment,” Gilbert said, his voice soaked with worry. “How did it… it shouldn’t be able to get into camp.”</p><p>“Someone summoned it,” Bash said, glancing around at the campers. “Someone from inside the camp.”</p><p>“We need to get Anne to the infirmary, <em>now</em>!” Diana yelled. She had attempted to stop the blood flow from Anne’s deep wound by using a piece of cloth given to her by Miss. Stacy, but it wasn’t doing the job.</p><p>“Wait,” Anne croaked, “where’s Billy?”</p><p>Anne remembered the power that surged through her body when Billy’s spear touched her. If she was right, it had to be the spear that had healed her wounds. Maybe it could heal her now.</p><p>“I need his… his spear,” she managed to squeak out, trembling. She tried to sit up and look around but Diana and Gilbert stopped her.</p><p>Without questioning this, Gilbert stood up. “Where’s Billy Andrews?” he called out.</p><p>After a moment of campers whispering and looking around, Billy hesitantly stepped forward, still a bit frazzled from being electrocuted. Gilbert grabbed the spear from him and brought it to Anne. Billy was too ashamed to argue.</p><p>“Okay, I need you to… stab me with it,” ordered Anne.</p><p>Gilbert was horrified. “What?”</p><p>“Just listen to me,” she replied.</p><p>“Anne, I don’t think that’s a good idea <em>at all.</em> You’re badly hurt and you aren’t thinking straight,” Diana told her frantically, “We need to get you to the infirmary.”</p><p>Anne shook her head and weakly grasped Gilbert’s arm. She stared him dead in the eye and earnestly asked him with her eyes to trust her. Gilbert looked to Miss. Stacy and Bash who nodded their heads, signaling to him that they also trusted Anne.</p><p>He took a deep breath, shakily drew the spear back, and stabbed her right in the chest.</p><p>The other campers braced themselves for the fallout, convinced they were about to witness Anne’s death.</p><p>As soon as the spear had contact with Anne's skin- or what was left of it- she felt shockwaves shoot throughout her body, but it didn’t hurt. Just as Anne expected, she felt that power again… that energy that rejuvenated her earlier. She could hear the other campers gasp as the wounds begun to close up. Gilbert’s jaw nearly dropped and Diana had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t just seeing things.</p><p>A moment of silence passed before Anne sat up, completely healed. The entire camp stared at her but no one dared say a word until-</p><p>“Anne, your eyes…” Gilbert whispered, “they’re…glowing?”</p><p>A flash of lightning followed by a crack of thunder shook the forest and the campers all looked up at the sky. Dark, stormy clouds had replaced the perfect blue skies in seconds. When they looked back at Anne, a collective gasp could be heard from all the campers.</p><p>Anne could feel everyone staring at her, more-so at the top of her head. Overwhelmed with confusion, Anne tilted her head up to see what they were all looking at it. She almost toppled over when she saw it.</p><p>Above her head was a hologram of golden light. It had started to fade but Anne could easily make out the symbol. A lightning bolt.</p><p>“Anne… your father,” Gilbert said, baffled. “How- how is this possible?…He must of… he broke the oath.”</p><p>“It is determined,” announced Bash.</p><p>Slowly, all of the campers around her started to kneel, even the people who hated her- Billy, the entire Ares cabin, Josie, Ruby…</p><p>“My father?” Anne asked, the words sounding foreign leaving her mouth.</p><p>“Zeus,” Miss. Stacy declared, “The Lord of the Sky. The King of the Gods. Hail Anne Shirley, Daughter of Zeus.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>before anyone asks "why zeus??":</p><p>I wanted anne to be the daughter of a big three god so that the story would more accurately follow the Percy Jackson story... I was actually super torn between poseidon and zeus but i ultimately chose zeus in the end</p><p>reasons:<br/>- anne is known to have a pretty stormy temper and as we all know, so does zeus<br/>- anne is really smart too, like zeus<br/>- electricity also makes me think of that one ep of anne with an e when miss. stacy does the potato thing and anne really loved that so...<br/>- anne has super icy blue eyes, similar to jason and thalia grace<br/>- anne is a great leader, like zeus who literally rules all of the gods<br/>- and you can't deny how fucking powerful the line "hail anne shirley, daughter of zeus" is</p><p>anyways thank u so much for reading this chapter!!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. cabin one</h2></a>
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    <p>When Anne had first met Gilbert and asked him if any of her features gave a hint about who her godly parent was, Gilbert really wasn’t sure what to say. Whenever a new demigod arrived at camp, Gilbert was almost always able to predict who their parent was upon meeting them. He quite enjoyed trying to figure it out- it was like a puzzle. And almost every time, he was correct.</p><p>But something about Anne struck him differently. He really could not figure her out.</p><p>When he struck a nerve in her by mentioning her red hair, her sudden anger towards him really made him think. To be fair, he truly had never met a demigod with red hair before.</p><p>But her fiery temper and fiery hair had perplexed him. At first, he considered the idea that she could be a daughter of Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge. She <em>did </em>have red hair that reminded him of fire after all. However, most of the children of Hephaestus he had met didn’t have red hair; not to mention the fact that Anne had piercing blue eyes and Hephaestus’s children usually had brown. She also had very delicate hands, Gilbert thought, so there was no way Hephaestus was her father.</p><p>Gilbert then considered the possibility that Anne was a daughter of Athena. He could immediately tell that she was quite smart and caught onto things quickly. This possibility was furthered in Gilbert’s mind the longer he spent time with her. But this would really complicate things for Gilbert because he could not deny the attraction he felt towards her and them both being children of Athena would definitely complicate things for him.</p><p>After meeting Anne, Gilbert spent the next week racking his brain. He could not get her out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. He had to figure out who her godly parent was.</p><p>Gilbert even took the liberty of going through all of the gods, minus the Big Three of course, and was able to find attributes of all of them in her.</p><p>During their training lessons, she quickly proved she was a good fighter which made him consider Ares, but she definitely did not seem like the type who always <em>wanted </em>to pick a fight- she just seemed to find herself in situations where she <em>had </em>to fight.</p><p>Both Apollo and Hermes had blue eyes like Anne did, so he considered both of them as well. He ruled out Apollo because Anne showed no interest or specialty in healing or music. Meanwhile, Hermes was definitely a possibility because he was a jack of all trades and Anne seemed to be good at many things. But something in Gilbert’s mind told him there was no way Hermes was her father.</p><p>Demeter was another possibility. Anne was quite bossy and loved to argue with Gilbert, and he had heard rumors that Demeter never stepped down in an argument with her brothers. It was Anne’s blue eyes that put him off of this idea. All of Demeter’s children had green eyes, the color of new foliage.</p><p>That left him with Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love. In Gilbert’s eyes, there was no denying that Anne was beautiful- her long red hair, pale skin and freckles, perfectly sloped nose, piercing eyes. Then again, children of Aphrodite were more conventionally beautiful and Anne had a different air to her than they did.</p><p>And so Gilbert was stumped.</p><p>He had no idea who her godly parent was and it frustrated him to no end. The thought of her being a child of one the Big Three never even crossed his mind- because why would it? There hadn’t been children of the Big Three in over seventy years. They had made an oath.</p><p>That’s why the moment he saw that golden symbol of a lightning bolt floating above Anne’s head, Gilbert’s jaw nearly hit the ground.</p><p>She was the daughter of Zeus. And it all made sense.</p><p>~</p><p>Anne sat on her cot in cabin one, Zeus’s cabin. It was much larger and fancier than the Hermes cabin. It had beautiful cloud-like furniture and a dome ceiling decorated with enchanted mosaics that imitated the sky. The door was huge and made of bronze and the floor was white marble that glittered in the light. Despite its beauty, Anne had never felt more alone.</p><p>Just as she was beginning to feel like she was finding her place at camp half-blood, she was suddenly an outcast again- a daughter of the King of the Gods, a daughter born out of a broken oath.</p><p>Anne’s mind was spinning. Everything that had happened after that capture the flag game was a blur. Before she could even register the fact that <em>Zeus</em> was her father, she was being hurried away from the campers by Diana who wanted to take her to the infirmary and confirm that the electricity from the spear had healed her wound internally. She had locked eyes with Gilbert as she was being dragged away and could not get the expression on his face out of her head. It was a mix of astonishment, admiration, fear, and something else that Anne could not put her finger on.</p><p>Now that she had moved into Zeus’s cabin and was finally alone with her thoughts, she had time to think about her new title as Zeus’s daughter and began to understand a lot about her life.</p><p>She never realized it until now that she’d never gotten caught in the rain before. Even when she didn’t check the weather for the day, she was always dressed correctly for the conditions. Anne also always had a strange way with birds. Whenever she walked through the city, pigeons would follow her for blocks. She used to think they thought she had food or something, but now she understood the real reason. Zeus.</p><p>Zeus was her father.</p><p>She didn’t know anything about her mother who died a few months after she was born and she always just assumed that her father had died too- the orphanage never mentioned anything about him.</p><p>The hopeless romantic in her desperately wanted to know how and if Zeus had fallen in love with her mother. Clearly, he must’ve harbored intense feelings for her if he was willing to break the oath he had made with his godly brothers. She decided that one day, if given the chance, she would ask him. But the thought of even talking to the god of the sky, <em>who was her father</em>, was crazy to her.</p><p>Anne was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a knock at the door. She rushed over and opened it to reveal Jerry and Diana.</p><p>“Anne!” They chorused, greeting her with huge smiles.</p><p>They entered the cabin excitedly, looking around in amazement at the sheer scope of the cabin.</p><p>“This has to be the nicest cabin at this camp!” Diana exclaimed, “your father went all out.”</p><p>Anne laughed. “I guess he did, didn’t he?”</p><p>“Those mosaics…” Jerry said in awe, gazing up at the ceiling.</p><p>“How are you holding up?” Diana asked Anne.</p><p>“Alright, I suppose. I’m still adjusting,” admitted Anne. “I can’t even leave the cabin without getting stared at. But no one will even say a word to me now.”</p><p>It was true. She had decided that a lot of the campers were too scared to do or say anything to her in fear of offending Zeus. The girls from Aphrodite’s cabin and Ruby avoided her like the plague and poor Billy’s ego was too bruised for him to even look at her. She also hadn’t seen Gilbert since yesterday when she was claimed.</p><p>“They’ll get over it,” Diana replied with a reassuring smile, “people just don’t know how to act around you now. You see, there hasn’t been a child of Zeus in seventy years.”</p><p>“People are also scared of what’s gonna happen next,” Jerry added, his hooves padding the marble floor nervously, “they’re worried Poseidon or Hades might send monsters to attack you or <em>worse</em> now that you’ve been claimed. Zeus <em>did</em> break the oath after all. And there was also rumors before you even arrived at camp that a war between Zeus and Poseidon was brewing. What if it has something to do with you?”</p><p>“Jerry!” Diana swat him on the head, “you’re gonna scare her!”</p><p>Anne sighed. “It’s alright. I’m already bracing myself for… whatever is gonna come for me next. I have to take them as they come. I just hope I don’t put anyone else in danger.”</p><p>“But look on the bright side. You probably have so many powers that you don’t even know about,” Diana said. “Most demigods here know the full extent of their powers from the get go but since you’re the first child of Zeus in such a long time, who knows what you’re capable of?”</p><p>“That’s what scares me the most,” Anne replied. “What if I accidentally hurt someone? I mean, you saw what I did to Billy and his friends. What if next time I kill them?”</p><p>Diana put a comforting hand on Anne’s shoulder. “You can’t think like that, Anne.”</p><p>Anne knew Diana was right. Instead of worrying, she should try to figure her powers out.</p><p>“By the way, Anne,” Jerry said, “we came here to tell you that Miss. Stacy and Bash would like to speak with you in the Big House.”</p><p>“I was wondering when they were gonna ask to see me,” Anne said.</p><p>~</p><p>As Anne made her way to the Big House, she kept her head down trying to avoid the stares of all the other campers and was too lost in her thoughts to watch where she was going.</p><p>All of a sudden, she ran into something that sent her stumbling towards the ground. She felt two sturdy hands grasp her firmly around the waist and thus saving her from landing in the dirt.</p><p>“I’m sor-” she started before looking up to see who it was.</p><p>It was Roy.</p><p>“Roy! I’m so sorry, I should’ve been looking where I was going.” stuttered Anne.</p><p>Roy grinned, like he always did.</p><p>“It’s fine! Don’t sweat it, golden girl,” he said.</p><p>She blushed at this new nickname as she met his eyes. His hands were still around her waist and she quickly removed them.</p><p>“Thanks for catching me,” she replied shyly, mentally slapping herself across the face for acting like such a ditz.</p><p>“Of course,” Roy said earnestly. “Are you on your way to the Big House now?”</p><p>Anne nodded.</p><p>“I’m sure it’s nothing serious. They probably just want to check in on you. You’re quite the talk of the town,” he told her.</p><p>“I can imagine what everyone’s saying,” Anne said.</p><p>Roy smiled and ruffled her hair. He was only a few years older than her but to her dismay, he treated her like a child.</p><p>“Good luck, golden girl,” he said to her before walking away.</p><p>She didn’t even have time to ask where that nickname came from.</p><p>~</p><p>“So Anne, how are you doing?” Bash asked, a little awkwardly, “you know, with the recent… revelations?”</p><p>Anne was sitting on the couch in the main office of the Big House. She didn’t know how to respond to the centaur.</p><p>Miss. Stacy nudged him before taking a seat next to Anne and putting a comforting hand on top of her hand.</p><p>“I know you might be struggling to adjust,” Miss. Stacy said, “which is understandable. This situation is… unimaginable.”</p><p>“Did you know?” Anne asked suddenly. “That I was a child of the Big Three?”</p><p>“I considered it,” Miss. Stacy admitted, “but I wasn’t sure. I <em>couldn’t </em>be sure because it was unheard of. But I knew that you were different than the others. Not in a bad way or in a way that sets you <em>apart </em>from the other demigods, but I just had a feeling you were going to do more.”</p><p>Anne was quiet for a moment.</p><p>“Miss. Stacy, back before I came to camp… when I killed Mr. Hammond, I mean the Fury. He said something to me.”</p><p>“What was it?” Miss. Stacy asked.</p><p>“He said that they knew I had it, that I was lying,” Anne told her, “but I don’t know what he was talking about or what the ‘it’ even is?”</p><p>Miss. Stacy glanced at Bash and then back at Anne. “Anne, did anyone tell you about the rumors? That a war was stirring between Zeus and Poseidon?”</p><p>Anne nodded.</p><p>“Poseidon’s trident was stolen. His most prized weapon and the symbol of his power. No one knows who did it, but now that Zeus has claimed you, a lot of people think that you stole it,” explained Miss. Stacy.</p><p>“But I didn’t steal it! I’ve never even seen his trident before. Two weeks ago I didn’t even know this world existed. I swear, Miss. Stacy,” Anne said, looking nervously between Miss. Stacy and Bash.</p><p>“We know. We trust you.” Bash said, “but they don’t.” He motioned to the sky.</p><p>“So what do I do? How do I clear my name?” Anne asked.</p><p>“You have to speak to the Oracle.” Miss. Stacy said.</p><p>“The who?”</p><p>“The Oracle of Delphi,” Miss. Stacy finished.</p><p>As Anne made her way up the stairs and into the attic of the building, her heart was pounding in her chest. Never in her life did she think she would ever speak to someone who would tell her her future. She slowly turned the handle of the door and it creaked open.</p><p>The attic was dusty with Greek memorabilia and old camp junk littered in boxes on the floor. It seemed like no one had been in there for a long time, until Anne of course. The door slammed behind her, causing her to jump.</p><p>Sitting on the windowsill was something that made her skin crawl. It was a mummy, nothing but a ghost of a person who once was, seemingly preserved for centuries. Anne was terrified.</p><p>She nervously took a few steps towards it but froze in fear when the mummy jolted up with green mist pouring out of its mouth. And then: a voice.</p><p><em>I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask. </em>The voice didn’t come out of the mummy’s shriveled mouth. Instead, it echoed in Anne’s mind.</p><p>With a shaky voice, Anne replied, “What does my future hold?”</p><p>The mist that had come out of the mummy’s mouth began to form into figures in front of Anne’s eyes. Slowly, the figures became people of Anne’s past: Mr. and Mrs. Hammond, a bully from Hercules High School named Misty Rose, and a bully from the orphanage named Catherine.</p><p>Mr. Hammond opened his mouth and hissed: <em>You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.</em></p><p>Mrs. Hammond followed and said: <em>You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.</em></p><p>Then, Misty Rose opened her mouth to share some painful news: <em>You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.</em></p><p>And finally, Catherine delivered the worst part of the prophecy: <em>And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.</em></p><p>Anne felt her heart sink as the figures faded away to nothing. The mummy was motionless again.</p><p>“But wait, I have more questions!” yelled Anne desperately but to no avail. She was even more confused than she was before.</p><p>When Anne returned to the room below and recited the prophecy to Bash and Miss. Stacy, she purposely left out the last two lines, feeling ashamed that not only would she be betrayed by a friend, but also that she would fail. She knew both of them could tell she wasn’t telling them the full truth but she was too shaken up to care.</p><p>“Anne, prophecies always have double meaning,” reassured Miss. Stacy, “And we think we know who stole the trident.”</p><p>Anne perked up at this. “Who?”</p><p>“The one god who would benefit the most from a war between Zeus and Poseidon,” Bash stated.</p><p>Anne knew the answer. “Hades.”</p><p>~</p><p>Anne sat on the back porch of the cabin, looking out into the strawberry fields that were outside the barrier of the camp. As much as she would have loved to sit on the dock by the lake, she knew that was not the smartest idea. Water was Poseidon’s domain and she would not be safe there.</p><p>But all of that was so trivial right now. She had so much to think about. The Oracle made it clear that she would be going on a quest. Was she even ready for that?</p><p>Before she left the Big House earlier, Miss. Stacy and Bash told her she would need two demigods to accompany her on the quest. She would need to choose quickly because time was ticking. They had figured out that she had until the summer solstice to return the trident safely to Poseidon- that was approximately two weeks from now.</p><p>But who would be willing to risk their life to help her do this?</p><p>“Obviously not Billy, <em>not</em> Josie… I would love it if Diana came, but I don’t want to endanger her. Maybe I shouldn’t even mention it to her because she would no doubt want to join me,” Anne said to herself out loud. “Roy is a possibility but I can barely even talk to him. It would be really hard if I had to fight monsters alongside him while he’s looking all handsome and everything.”</p><p>She groaned and put her head in her hands.</p><p>The sound of footsteps on the porch caused Anne to look up.</p><p>And to her surprise, Gilbert Blythe was standing in front of her.</p><p>With the sun setting behind him and the wind slightly blowing his curly hair, Anne thought for a second that he looked like a character right out of a novel. But she tucked that thought away and stood up quickly.</p><p>“Anne-”</p><p>“Gilbert-”</p><p>They spoke at the same time. Gilbert smiled a bit at this.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Anne asked him.</p><p>“I heard about your quest,” he said.</p><p>Anne looked down at her hands. “You did? From who?”</p><p>“Bash told me.”</p><p>“Bash?” Anne was confused.</p><p>“He kind of took me in a few years ago so he has a habit of telling me everything,” replied Gilbert. “But I’m not here to talk about Bash. I’m here cause… I want to accompany you on your quest.”</p><p>“What? You do?”</p><p>Gilbert was fiddling with his fingers. “Look, they haven’t sent anyone on a quest in years and I’ve dreamed of going on one ever since I’ve been here. I’m more prepared than anyone here and I know I can help you retrieve the trident.”</p><p>It was true. Gilbert desperately wanted to see the world. He was tired of being cooped up in camp, as much as he loved it here, but he had trained so hard for years for an opportunity like this to come. He would never admit it but he also wanted to accompany Anne to make sure she was safe. Who knows what kind of monsters were out there just waiting for her to leave camp?</p><p>Anne tried to hide her disappointment. She appreciated that he wanted to come but it wasn’t because he wanted to help her <em>really,</em> it was because he wanted to go on a quest. Knowing she didn’t have any other options though, Anne nodded her head.</p><p>“Okay,” she said.</p><p>“Okay as in I can come?” Gilbert said, his heart beating in his chest.</p><p>She nodded again, deciding to swallow her pride for a moment. “Bash told me you’re one of the best here so I guess I need you.”</p><p>Gilbert beamed but had to stop himself from jumping up and down. He didn’t want to look like a child.</p><p>He cleared his throat. “So when do we leave?”</p><p>“Tomorrow morning.”</p><p>The two stood in silence together, watching the sun set over the fields of strawberries. The pinks melted into the oranges as the blue faded into oblivion. Anne thought it was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. Like the calm before a storm.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry this chapter was a bit long and more of a filler, but I promise the action is coming!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. the quest begins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That night, Anne had an awfully vivid dream.</p><p>She was standing in the middle of a desert, nothing but barren land around her and an eagle soaring over her head. Over her head was a grey sky, dark clouds circling around her. She held a flaming torch in her left hand and a familiar fountain pen in her right. In the distance, she could see two people running through a cloud of dust towards her, screaming her name. She tried to yell back but nothing came out.</p><p>As the dust cleared, she was able to recognize the two figures as Diana and Gilbert, their faces stricken with fear. Before she could react, the sky opened up and rain poured down, filling the cracks in the desert ground.</p><p>She was drenched, but the torch was still on fire.</p><p>The eagle landed next to Anne and stared at her, its beady eyes black and soulless. When it opened its beak, a voice spoke.</p><p>“Where the rain meets the desert, you will find your answer,” it said bleakly. “Now spread your wings, demigod.”</p><p>~</p><p>In the morning, Anne woke up with a knot in her stomach. She laid in her bunk for a moment, staring up at the ceiling of the cabin as a storm flickered across the mosaics on the dome.</p><p>Something about that dream felt way too real. Like it was a warning of some sorts.</p><p>She knew the eagle was Zeus but she didn’t understand what his message meant. There were too many questions in her head that needed answers: questions about her mother, about her new life, about the missing trident, about the prophecy… Which was he referring to?</p><p>With a disgruntled sigh, Anne hopped out of bed and grabbed the bag she had packed before she had gone to bed. She was meeting Diana and Gilbert outside the Big House in 20 minutes.</p><p>It was time for her quest.</p><p>Last night, after Gilbert had declared he was joining her on her quest, it wasn’t too long before Diana was knocking on her door too, earnestly pledging her allegiance to Anne. As much as she didn’t want Diana coming on the quest, in fear of her getting hurt, Anne needed a third person. And there really wasn’t anyone else she could bring.</p><p>Plus, Diana was good with a bow, smart on her feet, and an excellent healer- not to mention friend. Anne knew Diana could protect herself. She just feared Diana (and Gilbert) didn’t fully understand what they were getting themselves into.</p><p>They were putting themselves right into the middle of a war.</p><p>Swinging her bag over her shoulder, Anne opened the door to cabin one and with one last glance at her short-lived newfound home, stepped outside where she found Jerry waiting for her.</p><p>“Jerry?” Anne said, startled. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I’m here to see you off,” he replied, “You really thought I would let you go on this extremely dangerous quest without saying goodbye?”</p><p>Anne snorted. “Of course not. But you <em>do</em> hate waking up early.”</p><p>Jerry rubbed his eyes and yawned. “You know me so well.”</p><p>The two had fallen into step with each other as they walked down the path towards the Big House. Anne looked around and took in the camp one last time, convinced she was never going to see it again. She couldn’t believe but it had quickly begun to feel like home for her, even though she hadn’t been here long.</p><p>They arrived at the Big House and found Miss. Stacy on the porch waiting for them.</p><p>Jerry turned to Anne, his eyes filling with tears.</p><p>“Promise me you’ll come back,” he said, his voice wobbly.</p><p>Anne smiled at her friend weakly. “I’ll come back. Don’t worry.”</p><p>The words rung in her ears. They sounded even more like a lie than she intended.</p><p>She could tell Jerry knew she was lying because he threw his arms around her and enveloped her into a tight hug.</p><p>“If you need to talk, throw a golden drachma into water and pray to the goddess Iris,” he whispered, “we can talk like that since a phone might signal your location to monsters.”</p><p>Anne pulled away and nodded.</p><p>“I’ll see you soon,” she said.</p><p>Jerry sniffled and wiped a tear from his cheek. He hurried off before he could burst into tears again.</p><p>Anne’s heart ached as she watched her longest friend walk away from her for possibly the last time ever.</p><p>She turned to Miss. Stacy who looked at her with a sympathetic expression on her face.</p><p>“Anne, I want to give you something,” Miss. Stacy said.</p><p>Anne stepped forward as Miss. Stacy pulled something out of her pocket. She held it out to Anne.</p><p>It was the ballpoint pen she had used to kill the Fury and fight the Minotaur. Anne had returned it to Miss. Stacy after she arrived at camp.</p><p>“You can’t give me your sword, Miss. Stacy!” Anne said, refusing to take it.</p><p>“It’s not my sword,” Miss. Stacy replied calmly, “it’s yours.”</p><p>“What?” Anne stared wide-eyed at the pen. “What do you mean?”</p><p>Miss. Stacy took a deep breath. “Quite a long time ago, the Fates gave me this weapon, <em>this pen</em>, and told me that one day, I would give it to Olympus’ greatest hero. I asked them how I’d know who the hero was but they just told me that I would know in my heart,” she began, peering at the pen that twinkled in the light of the rising sun, “When I first met you, I could tell you were different, more powerful than the others, and that you had the heart of a true leader. After your father Zeus claimed you, I knew it had to be you. Not to mention the fact that you were able to fight so easily with it.”</p><p>Anne looked down at the pen in the palm of Miss. Stacy’s hand. She slowly reached out and took it, feeling chills up and down her body when she touched it.</p><p>“Avonlea,” Anne whispered.</p><p>“What?” Miss. Stacy asked.</p><p>“Avonlea,” she repeated, “The name of the sword, er, well, the name I just gave the sword.”</p><p>“What does it mean?”</p><p>“River by the field,” answered Anne, “A river by a field is not only beautiful but also gives a town soil and food and hope. Hope is what I need right now. So I guess to me, Avonlea means hope- hope for a new beginning.”</p><p>Miss. Stacy smiled at Anne. “I’m sure you’ll make a fine leader on your quest, Anne. Good luck. I’ll see you in two weeks.”</p><p>Anne wanted to believe she <em>would</em> see her favorite teacher in two weeks, but she just couldn’t. Not when she knew she would fail to save what matters most in the end, like the prophecy had stated.</p><p>Miss. Stacy gave Anne a firm hug before retreating back into the Big House.</p><p>“Anne!” A voice called out in the distance.</p><p>She turned around and was shocked to see Roy running towards her.</p><p>“I… wanted… to… see you… before you left,” he said when he arrived, sweaty and out of breath.</p><p>“You did?”</p><p>“I figured you must be a little nervous. I’m sure you’ve heard people don’t really go on quests anymore. Not after…” he trailed off, his eyes somewhere else.</p><p>“Not after what?” Anne asked.</p><p>“… Not after my quest,” he replied, his face darkening immediately as the words left his mouth, “It didn’t go well. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I know you guys are trying to find the entrance to the Underworld which is in Los Angelos and I have a friend in Denver who can help you.”</p><p>Anne was awe struck. He was really looking out for her.</p><p>“Here’s his address,” Roy said, handing her a small slip of paper with an address on it, “he can lead you to the entrance and is also super good at making weapons.” He sent her a wink.</p><p>“Can he make some… alterations to a weapon?” wondered Anne. The ballpoint pen suddenly felt heavy in her hand.</p><p>“I don’t see why he couldn’t!”</p><p>“Thanks Roy,” she said shyly, “you know, for being so great. You’re one of the only people here who hasn’t treated me weirdly since I arrived at camp and I… I really appreciate it.”</p><p>“Of course, golden girl,” Roy chuckled. He ruffled her hair and pulled her into a warm hug.</p><p>Anne felt heat rise to her face, but she happily hugged him back, his curly hair tickling her forehead.</p><p>Someone cleared their throat behind them.</p><p>Anne hesitantly pulled away from Roy and turned to face the intruder. She sighed.</p><p>It was Gilbert.</p><p>“We should get going, Anne,” he said, sending a pointed look in Roy’s direction. “Time’s ticking.”</p><p>Anne rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. I’m coming, just had to grab a few things.”</p><p>“Gods Blythe, you really should loosen up,” Roy teased, grinning at the dark haired boy. “This boy’s been so tightly wound since I’ve known him, almost seven years now.”</p><p>Gilbert glowered at Roy who just laughed and ruffled his hair in response.</p><p>“I’ll see you soon, Gil,” Roy said, before sending one last wink in Anne’s direction and walking off.</p><p>“C’mon, Diana’s waiting for us in the car,” Gilbert grumbled, tugging Anne along.</p><p>~</p><p>Anne wished she could say that the beginning of the quest went smoothly, but that would be a lie.</p><p>Argus, Camp Half-Blood’s security guard, was driving Anne, Gilbert, and Diana into the city where he would drop them off. Then, they would be left on their own.</p><p>It was during this ride that Anne realized they didn’t exactly have a plan. She originally thought it would be best for them to just buy plane tickets and fly to Denver, super simple, just like how mortals travel. In Anne’s eyes, it helped that Zeus was her father so flying would be no problem.</p><p>From there, she thought they could meet up with Roy’s friend who would take them to Los Angelos. And then boom. They go into the Underworld, retrieve the Trident from Hades, and return it safely to Poseidon. Ignoring the whole prophecy thing, this plan was fool proof.</p><p>But when Anne voiced her plan to Gilbert and Diana, she was immediately shot down.</p><p>“Anne, that will never work,” Gilbert stated plainly.</p><p>“Why not?” she demanded, growing irritated. It was her quest, she was the leader and yet here Gilbert was basically undermining her leadership.</p><p>“Flying will make it look like Zeus is helping us,” explained Gilbert, “Poseidon is convinced that Zeus coaxed you into stealing his trident and if we fly in Zeus’s domain, it’ll basically confirm that you’re guilty.”</p><p>“So you’re saying my own father won’t even help us and that he thinks I’m guilty,” Anne deadpanned.</p><p>Outside the car, thunder rumbled in the distance.</p><p>“Why do you have to twist my words?” Gilbert asked, his tone matching Anne’s.</p><p>“Why do you always have to contradict me?” Anne countered.</p><p>Argus grunted from the front, clearly amused by the impending argument.</p><p>“Anne, it’s not that Zeus doesn’t want to help you. It’s that he can’t,” Diana interjected in an attempt to ease the tension, “I think he really wants you to prove your innocence but unfortunately, due to the circumstances, it’s not that simple. It’s safest to travel by land.”</p><p>The thunderclouds cleared and the sky returned to blue.</p><p><em>May the gods bless Diana,</em> Anne thought to herself, <em>what an angel.</em></p><p>Anne shot Gilbert a look before turning to Diana. Gilbert just sulked in return.</p><p>“Okay, now <em>that</em> makes sense,” she replied, “So I guess train is our best bet then?”</p><p>“Where will we get the money for tickets?” Diana asked. “Camp only gave us $100 and a train ticket to Denver will cost at least $200 each.”</p><p>“I think I know a place,” Anne said.</p><p>~</p><p>Argus dropped the group off in midtown. He sped off the second they shut the door behind them without even saying goodbye.</p><p>“What a pleasant guy,” Anne muttered.</p><p>“Are you sure this will work?” Diana said, looking nervous.</p><p>Anne nodded. “I had over $500 stored in a box under my bed and I’m sure Mrs. Hammond has some more money laying around.”</p><p>“Is it really a good idea to go back to the home of a man who was secretly a Fury and tried to kill you?” Gilbert inquired. His eyebrows were raised in such a way that made Anne frustrated to no end, she wasn’t sure why though.</p><p>“Well, you got any better ideas, wise-guy?” Anne said.</p><p>Gilbert was silent so Anne took this as a no.</p><p>She led the way through the city as the Hammond’s apartment was a few blocks from where Argus left them. As much as she had begun to love camp, she really did miss the city and the skyscrapers and the bustling noise and the taxi cabs.</p><p>What she didn’t miss, however, was the Hammond’s shitty apartment. And the Hammonds, of course.</p><p>She didn’t realize how awful she had it until she was standing in front of the apartment building, flanked by Diana and Gilbert. She could see the window of the apartment from the street and immediately felt her insides recoil at the thought of her preteen years spent in that hellish pit. Something even Hades wouldn't wish on his greatest enemy.</p><p>Diana could tell Anne was feeling nervous and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.</p><p>With a deep breath, Anne walked into the apartment building, followed by Diana and Gilbert.</p><p>“Mrs. Hammond is never home during the day,” Anne assured them.</p><p>“What about Mr. Hammond?” Diana asked,</p><p>“Well, I killed him I guess,” Anne paused. “Acually, I don’t really know what happened with that. Like, I’m not sure if Mrs. Hammond reported him missing or something.”</p><p>“The mist was probably involved,” Gilbert said.</p><p>“The mist?”</p><p>“It’s magic that controls what mortals see,” he explained, “I bet it offered some sort of explanation for what happened to him.”</p><p>Once they were on the Hammond’s floor, they quietly made their way to the right apartment unit. Anne easily found where they hid the spare key and unlocked the door.</p><p>The trio crept through the eerily quiet and ratty old apartment and into Anne’s former bedroom, which oddly enough, remained untouched. The bed was made neatly, her desk was organized, and her closet was the same as it was when she last saw it. Despite the seemingly tidy demeanor the room was giving off, it was clearly lived in and a place that gave off bad energy and memories.</p><p>“Okay, just find the money, Anne. This place is giving me the creeps,” Diana urged, looking around unsettled.</p><p>“You really lived here?” Gilbert said, bewildered.</p><p>Anne knelt on the ground and reached under the bed, her arm feeling around for something. “Trust me, I don’t even want to think about it.”</p><p>Even though it hadn’t even been two weeks since Anne had left this place, it felt like a whole lifetime ago that she was suffering under the Hammond’s abuse.</p><p>Her hand closed around a small box and she quickly pulled it out.</p><p>“Aha!” she exclaimed, “This is it.”</p><p>She opened the box to reveal wads of cash.</p><p>“It’s amazing what secret babysitting jobs and dog walking jobs will get you,” Anne said.</p><p>Before her friends could reply, a delicious smell wafted into the room. It smelled of freshly baked brownies, cookies, lasagna, pizza, any food that Anne had ever craved.</p><p>“What is that… heavenly smell?” Gilbert wondered.</p><p>“I’m not sure…” Anne replied, in some sort of daze.</p><p>The three of them found themselves walking towards the smell and into the kitchen, where a home cooked meal was waiting for them on the table.</p><p>Sitting at the table was a woman with red hair, just like Anne’s. She looked familiar, <em>felt </em>familiar, like home. The woman smiled at Anne and patted the chair next to her.</p><p>“Anne-girl, come eat some dinner,” the woman crooned, her voice soothing.</p><p>As much as she wanted to sit down next to the lovely lady, something inside her was screaming at her not to.</p><p>Diana slowly started to walk towards the table but Anne stopped her.</p><p>“Diana, don’t. Something doesn’t… something’s off,” Anne said.</p><p>Diana shook her head. “No. I have to. I have to make my mother proud of me.”</p><p>“Diana, what?”</p><p>But it was too late. Diana sat down at the table.</p><p>Gilbert moved to join Diana but Anne grabbed his arm,</p><p>“Gilbert, don’t you feel like something isn’t right?” Anne said, desperately searching his eyes for some sort of inclination of doubt.</p><p>“I don’t… I…” he eyed the food at the table, “I need to stop them, before it’s too late.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>Gilbert gently took Anne’s hand off of his arm and made his way over to sit next to Diana.</p><p>Anne wasn’t sure what to do. It felt like a trap, but at the same time, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she was being super paranoid. And her mind felt fuzzy, her eyelids heavy, her stomach growling. She really wanted to eat…</p><p>“Anne, come and join us,” the woman said, “I’ve always wanted to have a meal with you.”</p><p>Deciding to ignore her instincts and the voice inside her head saying something about Hansel and Gretel, Anne started to walk towards the table. It felt like blocks of cement were on her feet as she fought her body to move.</p><p>When Anne sat down, the red haired lady reached out and softly stroked her hair. The touch felt like it was full of adoration and love. Feeling relaxed, Anne looked down at the plate that was placed in front her, but when she looked back up, the red haired lady’s face was replaced with Mrs. Hammond’s ugly one.</p><p>“Mrs. Hammond?” Anne shrieked, jolting backwards in her chair.</p><p>“No, honey,” Mrs. Hammond hummed in the same voice as the red haired lady’s.</p><p>Anne stood up and unsheathed Avonlea. Diana and Gilbert stared at her in shock.</p><p>Mrs. Hammond laughed. “Oh, Anne, you always were a spunky one. I suppose it shouldn’t come as a shock that you can see through my mist manipulation.”</p><p>“What are you?” demanded Anne angrily.</p><p>“Well, I was told to return you alive but they didn’t say I couldn’t have a bite or two… I’m sure they wouldn’t notice,” Mrs. Hammond said.</p><p>In anger, Anne smashed the plates in front of Gilbert and Diana with her sword. The loud noise caused Gilbert to snap out of his trance.</p><p>“What do you want?” Anne interrogated.</p><p>“You, my dear,” Mrs. Hammond hissed.</p><p>“She’s Mormo!” Gilbert yelled, taking out his sword.</p><p>Anne didn’t have time to ask what in Hades Mormo was because Mrs. Hammond had lunged at her with all her might. This snapped Diana awake who quickly jumped to her feet.</p><p>Anne dodged Mrs. Hammond’s clutches with ease.</p><p>“You want me to kill you like I killed your husband?” Anne challenged, her sword raised.</p><p>Mrs. Hammond cackled at this. “He was a deadbeat anyway. We both only wanted you.”</p><p>“Who are you working for?” Gilbert asked, his sword also raised.</p><p>“I work for myself,” Mrs. Hammond growled, “And I’m hungry.”</p><p>Mrs. Hammond barred her teeth and leaped towards Anne. She froze in mid air, before crumbling to the ground and fading away into nothing. An arrow clattered onto the ground where Mrs. Hammond had fallen.</p><p>“Burn in Tartarus, bitch,” Diana seethed, her bow raised.</p><p>“Diana!” Anne squealed, running over to her and hugging her.</p><p>“Told you I was good with a bow,” Diana said smugly.</p><p>“You certainly are,” Anne agreed, “Now, let’s get out of here.”</p><p>Gilbert and Diana followed her without hesitation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry for not updating for a while, hope you enjoyed the chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. the longest train ride ever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once they were safely on the train, Anne could finally breathe. She truly didn’t expect such a huge setback so early on in the quest. Nevertheless did she ever imagine <em>both</em> her adoptive “parents” being monsters who wanted to kill her.</p><p>The three of them slumped down in seats that were facing each other in the back corner of the train cart. Diana sat across from Anne while Gilbert sat beside her.</p><p>“So what exactly is Mormo?” Anne asked.</p><p>“This whole time I thought she was a myth,” Diana admitted. “Back in the day, Greek parents used to tell their children stories about Mormo to scare their children into behaving. I didn’t really think she was real.”</p><p>“Mormo’s a companion of Hecate, the goddess of magic. She’s also related to the Empousa,” explained Gilbert.</p><p>Anne stared at him blankly.</p><p>“Female shape-shifters,” he added when he saw Anne’s face. “Mormo, on the other hand, is a spirit who feeds on people by biting them. Usually her victims are children.”</p><p>“So she’s a vampire,” Anne said. “Can’t believe my childhood nightmares are actually real.”</p><p>Diana snorted at this and Anne giggled and nudged her shin with her foot.</p><p>“But there hasn’t been a recorded sighting of her in decades,” Gilbert said, ignoring the girls. “So someone must really want you dead if they were able to bring her out of hiding.”</p><p>“Gee thanks, Gilbert. I really appreciate hearing that,” scoffed Anne, “But didn’t you hear what she said? She said whoever sent her told her to bring me back to them alive.”</p><p>“That’s true,” Gilbert said.</p><p>Anne suddenly remembered the red haired lady. “How was she able to… manipulate the mist like that? Whatever I saw felt so real. And I know you guys must’ve seen something too. We were all drawn to it.”</p><p>Diana looked down, fiddling with her fingers, while Gilbert turned a bit pale.</p><p>He cleared his throat. “She must’ve used some sort of magic, with her connection to Hecate and everything.”</p><p>“Do you think she was showing us our futures?” Anne asked, thinking about the red haired lady.</p><p>“I think she was showing us our deepest desires,” Diana answered shortly.</p><p>Anne could tell by Diana’s shift in tone that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She looked at Gilbert too and could tell by the look on his face that whatever Mormo showed him was not pleasant.</p><p>Realizing her friends were clearly affected by Mormo’s manipulation of the mist, Anne resorted to looking out the window rather than pressing them any further.</p><hr/><p>The train ride to Denver was very long. It took over a day and a half to get there and being ADHD meant Anne was extremely antsy the entire time. Not to mention how jumbled her thoughts were over the prophecy. She spent the majority of the trip either sleeping, writing in her journal with Avonlea, and looking out the window.</p><p>It was weird- now that she understood what the mist was, she could see things she hadn’t ever noticed before outside of camp. Like how the trees would turn into wood nymphs. Or how the storm clouds shifted into storm spirits. She even saw a few monsters loitering in the forests and mountains that the train zipped by. Luckily, they didn’t notice her.</p><p>The three of them discussed the rest of their plan. Once they arrived in Denver, they would go to the address Roy had given Anne and find his friend. Knowing they would be exhausted from traveling, they would stay the night in Roy’s friend’s house before embarking on the journey to Los Angelos where Roy’s friend would lead them to the Underworld.</p><p>When the sun began to set, Anne found herself unintentionally falling into a deep sleep. She had intended to doze off just a little bit and planned to otherwise stay alert the whole time, fearing that a monster might interrupt their peaceful ride. Of course, she failed.</p><p>Her dreams were… interesting, to say the least.</p><p>First, she found herself in a dark room. She could see a sliver of light across from her so she crept towards it. Peeking through the crack, she saw three shadowy figures huddling around a table in deep conversation. One had a a flaming torch, similar to the one she was holding in her other dream.</p><p>She tried her hardest to hear what they were saying but was only able to make out the words: Zeus, thief, and war.</p><p>Then, the dream shifted.</p><p>She was holding hands with someone, but when she tried to see their face, she couldn’t recognize them. She knew it must be the mist or some form of magic messing with her brain and tried to fight it. For some reason, there were tears streaming down her face. She gripped their hand tightly and cried out, but she didn’t understand the words that came out of her mouth.</p><p>Distressed, she closed her tear stained eyes and when she opened them, she was back in the desert from her other dream.</p><p>This time, however, Gilbert was next to her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder protectively. Diana was a few feet away from them, extending her arm out to them. Gilbert shouted something before the grounded underneath them opened up and swallowed them whole.</p><p>~<br/>Anne woke up in the morning with her head on Gilbert’s shoulder. His head rested delicately on top of hers.</p><p>Gilbert smelled of pine, like the trees at camp, with a few traces of cinnamon and lavender. When was he around cinnamon and lavender? Or was this just his every day smell?</p><p>For a moment, she felt like she could just live in that scent forever. But then she realized she wasn’t dreaming anymore.</p><p>She shot up straight, startling Gilbert, who had also been asleep. When he realized what their former position was, he immediately turned red.</p><p>“Sorry,” he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck, “You fell asleep like that and I didn’t have the heart to wake you. I must’ve dozed off too.”</p><p>His dark hair was a bit messy from sleeping and his eyes were puffy, which was quite adorable actually. Horrified with this revelation, Anne had to shake that thought out of her mind.</p><p>“It’s okay,” she replied, quickly. A little too quickly.</p><p>She was trying to compose herself but was failing miserably. She knew this when she saw the smug look on Diana’s face.</p><p>Gilbert got up awkwardly and stood in the aisle, checking the time on his watch.</p><p>“I’m, um, gonna go grab some snacks from the dining cart. You know, For breakfast,” he stated and began to walk away, before pausing and turning to the girls, “sorry, did you guys want anything?”</p><p>“Surprise us,” Diana said with a wink.</p><p>Gilbert nodded, a half-hearted smile on his face, and shuffled awkwardly down the aisle.</p><p>When he disappeared into the other cart, Anne slapped Diana on the arm.</p><p>“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she demanded.</p><p>“I couldn’t! You guys looked too cute,” Diana gushed, “Besides, you didn’t see poor Gilbert’s face when your head fell onto his shoulder. I wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it.”</p><p>“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re a daughter of Aphrodite,” Anne mumbled.</p><p>“Hmm, so by comparing me to a daughter of Aphrodite, the best matchmakers around, you’re admitting there’s definitely a romance brewing?” Diana teased.</p><p>“No!” she exclaimed before lowering her voice, “No. There’s nothing between me and Gilbert Blythe. Get that thought out of your head.”</p><p>“Okay, sure…” said Diana, a knowing expression on her face.</p><p>Anne decided to change the topic. “So, do you wanna tell me what you saw when Mormo manipulated the mist?”</p><p>At the mention of Mormo, Diana’s face dropped. “No, actually. I don’t,” she said sharply.</p><p>Anne was taken aback. She didn’t expect this to upset Diana- she was only half joking.</p><p>But before Anne could say anything else, Gilbert returned with an armful of snacks. He slid into the seat next to Anne and tried to hide any indication of his awkwardness from earlier.</p><p>Diana turned her head to look out the window, a sullen expression on her face. She didn’t even acknowledge him. Gilbert glanced at Anne who looked slightly upset as well. Treading lightly, he placed a bag of pretzels in her lap, but didn’t say a word. Anne opened the bag without any hesitation and shoved a few pretzels into her mouth.</p><hr/><p>They had been on the train for nearly 24 hours now and still had another 16 to go. You could say Anne was going a bit stir crazy.</p><p>Diana hadn’t said a word to her since her sudden shift in mood a few hours ago and had fallen asleep with her head pressed against the window.</p><p>Meanwhile, Gilbert had spent the last few hours with his head buried in some book about battle strategy called <em>Battle Strategy 101 for Dummies: Well Not Really Cause You’re a Child of Athena</em>. He was highlighting the text and writing on post-it notes the entire time. How interesting could battle strategy possibly be? Anne nearly snorted when she saw the title and had to stop herself from making fun of him for being such a nerd.</p><p>As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she didn’t actually hate his company. And she really needed someone to talk to.</p><p>“Gilbert, will you please just shut that stupid book and talk to me?” Anne said abruptly, startling him.</p><p>“Huh?” replied Gilbert.</p><p>“It’s just that I’m going crazy here and Diana’s sleeping and you’re the only other person I can talk to right now but you haven’t looked up from that book for the last five hours!” she sputtered.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows in confusion but slowly closed his book and set it aside.</p><p>“What did you want to talk about?” he asked.</p><p>“Mormo.”</p><p>Gilbert sighed. “Anne, I already told you. She’s just some spirit who feeds on-“</p><p>“No, no, no,” Anne shook her head. “I’m talking about what she showed us. With her whole mist manipulation thing. Diana didn’t want to talk about it but I can’t just ignore it.”</p><p>Anne noticed the way he tensed up at the mention of that, but she decided to just push further.</p><p>“What is your greatest desire? What did you see?” she pressed.</p><p>Anne had a feeling she knew what her’s was about- she <em>had</em> spent the last five hours thinking about it- and she needed to hear what Mormo showed him so that she could confirm her suspicions about her own.</p><p>Gilbert sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.</p><p>“My family,” he said finally. “She showed me my father, step-mother, and younger sister.”</p><p>“What? You haven’t seen them in a while or something?” Anne asked.</p><p>“No… she showed me them before they died.”</p><p>Anne felt every assumption she had made about him since meeting him come crashing down.</p><p>“I could’ve saved them. All of them,” he continued, his voice heavy, “The monster was after me. I had already left but the monster was on my trail. It found them instead.”</p><p>She was speechless.</p><p>“Gilbert, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”</p><p>“It’s fine. But Mormo showed me that no matter what I do, no matter who I save or who I help, I will never forgive myself for not being there to defend them. It’s my fault they died.”</p><p>“It’s not your fault, Gilbert. You can’t blame yourself forever,” Anne said, feeling her heart in her throat.</p><p>Gilbert shook his head. “No, it was my fault. Roy told me… he warned me but I didn’t listen. I waited too long to leave home.”</p><p>“Roy? What are you talking about?”</p><p>“He moved in next door to me when I was seven and he was nine,” Gilbert said. “We would play outside together every day after school. And then when he turned 12, he went to Camp Half-Blood. I thought he just went to some random sleep away camp for the summer but when he returned, he said he was a demigod and told me all these stories about gods and monsters. He even said he thought I was a demigod too. But I always thought he was just messing with me.”</p><p>Anne couldn’t believe her ears. Gilbert and Roy had known each other before they even knew they were both demigods. And what were the odds of two demigods living next door to each other?</p><p>“Then, when I turned 12, Roy was positive I was a demigod. He said it was dangerous for the two of us because our combined demigod smell would attract a lot monsters. He begged me to come to camp with him, but I didn’t believe him.”</p><p>Gilbert looked so sad and remorseful. She had never seen him like this before.</p><p>“That summer, he went to camp and I stayed home. But then, a few weeks later, Jerry showed up on my doorstep. He was frantic and told me I had to come with him to Camp Half-Blood immediately. My dad was at my side when I answered the door and seemed to understand exactly what Jerry was talking about. They rushed to get me packed, I said goodbye to my dad and the rest of my family, and then before I knew it, I was at camp. A few hours, we received a message that my entire family had been killed. My little sister… she was only five.”</p><p>Anne felt a tear rolling down her face and she quickly wiped it away. She always thought her life was pretty tragic and depressing- it never even occurred to her that Gilbert had suffered so much too.</p><p>“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, and at such a young age too. I can’t even imagine how hard that must’ve been,” Anne empathized.</p><p>“Thanks for listening,” he said, scratching the back of his head, “I don’t usually… I haven’t really talked about that with anyone else before. Other than Roy and Bash."</p><p>Anne was quiet for a moment.</p><p>“I’m really sorry for being such an asshole to you,” she said suddenly, “It was dumb of me to wrongfully assume your life was so… easy. You just seemed to be so put together, like everything came easily to you. Maybe I was jealous of that.”</p><p>Gilbert managed a small smile. “It’s okay. I’m also sorry, for that comment about your hair when we first met. But I swear I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I truly have never met a demigod with red hair before. And I’m also sorry for setting you up in capture the flag, I just really wanted to win.”</p><p>Anne laughed. “All is forgiven, I suppose. Truce?”</p><p>She held out her hand to him and he took it, shaking it.</p><p>“Truce,” he declared firmly.</p><p>The two sat back in their seats satisfied, a faint blush fading from both of their cheeks. It was like a weight was lifted between the two of them and unspoken mutual feeling of friendship replaced it.</p><p>“But why did you want to know what Mormo showed me?” he asked curiously.</p><p>“I just needed to know if you saw something unbelievable too,” Anne said.</p><p>“Why? What did you see?”</p><p>“I think I saw my mother.”</p><hr/><p>The rest of the train ride went by smoothly. Diana seemed to have perked up and Anne decided to not press any further.</p><p>Gilbert was determined to finish his book, which was almost 1000 pages long. He spent the rest of the time vehemently flipping through the pages and highlighting.</p><p>In the meantime, Diana had asked Anne why her and Gilbert seemed to be getting along now and Anne just told her that they both agreed there was no use in bickering anymore.</p><p>“Hm. I kinda liked seeing this tension between you two. It was entertaining,” Diana had said before adding, “But then again, there’s still tension there. If you know what I mean.”</p><p>She winked suggestively and Anne just whacked her on the arm.</p><p>They arrived in Denver at 7am and Anne nearly let out a shriek of happiness when she stepped out onto the platform and into the fresh air. The dry summer air was much different than the humidity in New York; Anne couldn’t decide which one she preferred.</p><p>Even though Denver was a city, she was overjoyed to see the snow-capped mountains in the distance. It was like a beautiful landscape painting.</p><p>Since it was so early in the morning, the sun had only just begun to rise. The trio decided that based on their rumbling stomachs, it would be a smart idea to grab some breakfast before searching for Roy’s friend.</p><p>They walked out of Union Station and into the city, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings in pure amazement. After walking a few blocks, they stumbled upon a 24-hour diner, its neon sign glowing in the early hours of the morning.</p><p>Anne eagerly pushed the door open and they were quickly seated at a table. There were only a few other people inside.</p><p>“What are you guys gonna get?” Diana asked, flipping through the menu.</p><p>“Pancakes. No question,” answered Anne. Her stomach growled just at the thought of a warm stack of freshly made pancakes oozing with syrup and butter. Styx, she was hungry.</p><p>A waitress came over to them and took their order. As the three of them waited hungrily for their breakfast, something outside caught Anne’s eye.</p><p>An old woman with a tiny poodle was standing at the corner of the street, staring right at her. Anne was uncomfortable to say the least. But she suddenly felt the need to go and speak to the old woman. Overcome with curiosity, Anne stood up.</p><p>“Guys, I’ll be right back. I just need some fresh air,” she said.</p><p>Gilbert and Diana looked at her strangely but didn’t ask any questions.</p><p>She hurried out the door and onto the sidewalk where the woman was waiting for her.</p><p>“Hi sweetheart,” greeted the woman cheerfully.</p><p>“Hi..” Anne said cautiously, “Um, could I ask why were you staring at me?”</p><p>The old lady smiled. “You just have such beautiful hair. I’ve always loved the color red.”</p><p>Anne knew it was a compliment but something inside her was screaming at her to go back inside.</p><p>“Oh, thank you. I thought… never mind,” Anne turned to go back into the diner but the woman grabbed her arm.</p><p>“Wait, don’t you want to meet my pet?” She gestured to the tiny poodle staring up at Anne and wagging its tail.</p><p>Anne smiled uncomfortably, “Sure.”</p><p>She bent down to pet it but it jerked away, startling the woman and causing her to let go of the leash. The dog barreled down the street in a flash of white fluff.</p><p>The woman was distraught and followed the dog. “Help me!” she shouted at Anne.</p><p>Feeling like it would be morally wrong for her to leave this poor woman alone, Anne ran after the woman and the dog, wondering how she managed to get into this situation.</p><p>Now, most demigods would have sensed this was a sketchy situation from the get go. But due to a lack of sleep and an empty stomach, Anne was not thinking entirely straight.</p><p>Somehow, she ended up chasing the woman and the dog all the way to the Denver Zoo, which was almost two miles away from the diner. Anne internally slapped herself in the face for being so dumb.</p><p>She finally managed to grab hold of the dog’s leash, causing the dog to stop in its tracks.</p><p>“I’ve always hated tiny dogs,” Anne muttered to herself.</p><p>“Thank you so much!” The old woman cried, taking the leash from Anne, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if my chimera got away.”</p><p>Anne froze. “What’d you just say?”</p><p>The woman squatted and gave the dog a fat smooch. “Hm?”</p><p>“What’d you just call your dog?” Anne said again.</p><p>“Oh. My chimera, you mean?” The woman replied nonchalantly.</p><p>“Ch-chimera?” If she had heard correctly, that meant that the tiny little poodle standing in front of her was actually a terrifying, fire-breathing monster.</p><p>“I can't walk him in his normal form, mortals would be so confused!" The woman exclaimed, as if it was obvious.</p><p>Anne stared at the woman, wide-eyed.</p><p>"Didn’t you know, sweetie? I’m Echidna.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. tiny fluffy poodle puppy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The second those words left the woman’s mouth, Anne knew she had made a mistake. </p>
<p>Some of the books that Gilbert had lent her when she first arrived at camp described who Echidna was- she was the mother of all monsters, the wife of Typhon, and quite terrifying to a new demigod who had no idea what she was doing.</p>
<p>Anne gulped as Echidna smiled at her sweetly.</p>
<p>“So demigod, I heard you have Poseidon’s trident,” she sneered. The chimera poodle stirred beside her at the mention of the trident.</p>
<p>“I-I don’t,” Anne replied, slowly reaching into her pocket for Avonlea.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Echidna said, eying Anne’s pocket.</p>
<p>In a rapid and impulsive motion, Anne unsheathed Avonlea. At the same time, the chimera transformed into its true form. She watched in horror as the cute little poodle grew ten sizes bigger and revealed itself to have the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a tail with the head of snake at the end of it. The chimera hissed at her, fire spewing from its mouth.</p>
<p>“He’s really bloodthirsty,” Echidna told her calmly, still holding onto the chimera’s leash. “He hasn’t been let out of Tartarus for over a thousand years.”</p>
<p>“It would be a shame if I have to send him back there,” Anne countered. She tried her best to sound brave but she knew Echidna could tell she was bluffing.</p>
<p>Boy was she really regretting not asking Gilbert to teach her about battle strategy on the train earlier. She racked her brain, trying to calculate her chances of making it out of this fight alive. Her chances were slimmer than they had ever been.</p>
<p>Figuring she’d be better off running away from this fight, she looked around and realized two things. One, they were at the entrance of the zoo where employees were busy tending to the animals and starting the day. And two, mortal civilians were beginning their days as well, drinking coffee and walking to work. If she ran off, would Echidna release the wrath of the ferocious chimera onto these innocent people?</p>
<p>A few people stared at Anne as they walked by and she couldn’t help but wonder what the mist had tricked them into seeing. Hopefully, it didn’t look like she was pulling a knife on an old lady and her dog.</p>
<p>“Come on, daughter of Zeus. We’re all curious to see what you got,” Echidna leered.</p>
<p>She let go of the leash. And just like that, all hell broke loose.</p>
<p>The chimera charged Anne, aiming its fire directly at her. She managed to avoid being burnt to a crisp by jumping to the side while also slashing the chimera with her sword. It let out a shrill hiss and blew fire again, but this time at the entrance to the gate. The fire created a gaping hole the size of a large boulder in the gate.</p>
<p>The chimera looked at Anne with a glint in its eye and she braced herself for another attack. However, instead of charging her, the chimera stormed through the hole in the gate instead, its serpent tail nearly whipping Anne in the face. Without hesitation, Anne ran after the chimera. She could hear Echidna cackling behind her.</p>
<p>Several zookeepers and employees shrieked and jumped out of the way when they saw the chimera blowing fire sporadically throughout the zoo and Anne following closely behind, frantically waving her sword. She <em>really</em> wanted to know what they were seeing.</p>
<p>The chimera came to a sudden halt at the lion exhibit. It stared at the lions who were lounging around on the rocks and tilted its head, curious as to why these animals had the same face as it did.</p>
<p>Anne saw this as the perfect opportunity to launch a counter attack against the chimera. She ran towards it with her sword raised and sliced its leg, but its reflexes were just as fast as her’s. It snapped its head towards Anne and blew fire at her again.</p>
<p>She felt excruciating pain in her right arm and glanced down to see it had been burnt, but it was not a normal burn. The burn seemed to be spreading up her arm and to her shoulder. She quickly realized that the chimera had also spewed venom on her from its tail.</p>
<p>The chimera slowly circled her, licking its lips, and Anne knew she was toast. Her fighting arm was… compromised and she had no idea how to fight this thing. It was unpredictable and wild.</p>
<p>She looked at the carnage behind her. As much as she hated zoos, she’d never wish this chaos on anyone. Gift shops were on fire. There were animals running out of their cages as the chimera’s fire had destroyed the metal. Zoo employees were shouting frantically.</p>
<p>The chimera spewed fire again but it missed Anne and hit a zebra that had been roaming freely instead. The zebra cried out and stumbled to the ground, the venomous burn spreading from its stomach to its legs.</p>
<p>Despite her own pain, Anne felt her eyes fill with tears over seeing the innocent animal writhing in pain on the ground. She angrily turned to face the chimera again, who waggled its serpent tail in anticipation.</p>
<p>This chimera was like a bully- it didn’t care about who it hurt or the damage it caused. It may be a hybrid of different species of animals but it wasn’t an animal. It was a monster.</p>
<p>She could feel a familiar tugging in her stomach as the anger burned through her body. The sensation hurt almost as much as the burn did. Above her, thunder rumbled and storm clouds loomed in the sky.</p>
<p>The chimera breathed fire at her again, but this time, something happened that Anne could not explain. There was a flash followed by a loud explosion, an explosion so powerful that it sent her over 1000 feet into the air.</p>
<p>All Anne could think about as she plummeted through the air was, <em>okay, so this is how I’m gonna die.</em></p>
<p>She closed her eyes and prayed to Zeus that she’d be able to survive this fall. Her friends needed her, camp needed her, <em>Olympus </em>needed her. She was too busy praying that she didn’t realize she wasn’t moving anymore.</p>
<p>When she slowly opened her eyes, she gasped. She was suspended in the air, floating over the city. She was <em>flying.</em></p>
<p>No one told her that children of Zeus could <em>fly.</em></p>
<p>Anne let out an excited squeal. But her excitement was quickly washed away when she looked down at the city.</p>
<p>The Denver Zoo was on fire. Police cars and firetrucks were quickly on the scene with sirens so loud that she could hear them from over a thousand feet in the air. What in Hades happened?</p>
<p>She willed the winds to slowly bring her down to the ground where she hoped no one would see her. But the landing was a bit turbulent as she lost control and ended up crash landing into the sidewalk. To be fair, it <em>was</em> her first time flying. And luckily, no one paid her any attention. The scene on the ground was way too chaotic for anyone to realize that a girl with red hair had flown down from the sky.</p>
<p>Civilians were preoccupied at the moment. They were running and screaming as a water buffalo casually walked down the street. A giraffe had stopped to eat the leaves off of a tree in the middle of the square. It turns out half the animals in the zoo had escaped and were roaming freely around the city. Anne had always thought zoos caged and mistreated wild animals and she definitely would’ve found the situation amusing if it had been any other time.</p>
<p>Quickly, she stood up and brushed herself off before rushing towards the zoo. She had landed about a block away from it and could see firemen putting out the fires and police trying to help disgruntled citizens.</p>
<p>There was no sign of Echidna or the chimera when she arrived at the entrance of the zoo. Maybe the explosion had sent them both to Tartarus, although Anne had no idea if Tartarus had the ability to hold the queen of monsters herself.</p>
<p>Reporters were in a frenzy, asking eyewitnesses questions and interviewing zoo employees. </p>
<p>“Anne?” A familiar voice shouted.</p>
<p>She whipped around and saw Gilbert and Diana sprinting towards her. She didn’t have time to reply because their arms were around her in an instant, practically squeezing her to death in a group hug.</p>
<p>“What happened?” Diana cried out as she let go of Anne. “We thought you were a goner!”</p>
<p>Anne let out a breathy laugh. “I did too.”</p>
<p>“One second you were outside the diner and the next we heard an explosion. We were seriously worried,” Gilbert said with his eyebrows furrowed.</p>
<p>“It was Echidna,” Anne told them, “and her little pet chimera.”</p>
<p>Diana gasped. “You fought the chimera? And came out of it alive?”</p>
<p>“Barely. It fried my arm. Speaking of which, I should probably…” Anne trailed off when she looked down at her arm. Any trace of a venomous burn was gone. “How did it…”</p>
<p>“Where did they go? Did you kill them? What was that explosion?” Gilbert prodded.</p>
<p>Anne suddenly felt too tired to reply. Her adrenaline had faded and so did her energy. For some reason, she had a deep-seated feeling that she might have caused that explosion. She didn’t know how, but it really felt like she did. And if that was true, whatever she did to cause it must’ve drained her.</p>
<p>Overwhelmed with dizziness, she stumbled and would have toppled over if Gilbert hadn’t caught her.</p>
<p>“We should find Roy’s friend,” Diana decided.</p>
<hr/>
<p>When Anne came to, she was sat between Diana and Gilbert in the back of a bus. Her head was resting on Gilbert’s shoulder again and he had a firm arm around her waist to keep her steady. Diana was searching her bag for something.</p>
<p>Anne tried to sit up but Diana stopped her.</p>
<p>“You should eat this,” Diana stated, handing her a small cube of something. “It’s ambrosia. It should help you fully regain your energy.”</p>
<p>Anne nodded and popped it into her mouth. It tasted like all of her favorite foods at once and immediately filled her body with warmth.</p>
<p>“Where are we going?” Anne asked.</p>
<p>“To the address Roy gave you. The bus will drop us off at a stop close to his house,” Gilbert replied.</p>
<p>The ambrosia worked fast- Anne already felt much better. She hesitantly sat up in her seat, surprisingly not as eager to leave the warmth of Gilbert’s body as she thought she was.</p>
<p>“So what happened out there?” Diana said.</p>
<p>Anne told them the story of the old woman and the dog and how they ended up being Echidna and the chimera. Then, she proceeded to tell them the events of her fight with the chimera in great detail. They hung onto every word in stunned amazement.</p>
<p>“As for the explosion, I really don’t know what happened. But I have a feeling I might have caused it,” Anne admitted. She explained to them the anger and the tugging feeling in her stomach she had felt when the chimera hurt the zebra.</p>
<p>Gilbert was thinking hard. “You know what the news is saying?”</p>
<p>Anne shook her head. She felt really awful about whatever went down at the zoo. Sure, she didn’t agree with zoos but the explosion could have killed innocent people and animals. And the damage will definitely cost the city millions of dollars, not to mention the fact that they have to capture all of the animals who had escaped. Why did she have such a bad temper?</p>
<p>“They’re saying it was some freak accident caused by a lightning bolt that short-circuited all of the electricity in the zoo. That’s what sparked the fire,” explained Gilbert.</p>
<p>Anne and Diana stared at him, waiting for him to draw his conclusion.</p>
<p>“Maybe they aren’t that far off? Maybe it <em>was</em> a lightning bolt,” Gilbert finished.</p>
<p>“So you’re saying… that I might have accidentally summoned a lightning bolt?” Anne said, slowly processing the possibility of that.</p>
<p>Gilbert nodded slowly. “I mean, you <em>are</em> the daughter of Zeus. It’s gotta be a possibility.”</p>
<p>“And we know you can control electricity and electrocute people,” added Diana, “a lightning bolt doesn’t seem <em>that</em> crazy.”</p>
<p>“Guys, there’s one part of the story I didn’t tell you,” Anne said suddenly.</p>
<p>Her friends stared at her in anticipation.</p>
<p>“I can fly,” she told them.</p>
<p>Both of them nearly fell out of their seats in excitement.</p>
<p>“You can?” Diana sputtered. “Oh, Anne Shirley, your list of powers seems to be never ending!”</p>
<p>“How did you figure this out?” asked Gilbert incredulously.</p>
<p>Anne explained what happened after the explosion sent her over 1000 feet into the air, leaving her friends even more amazed.</p>
<p>“I wonder what else you can do,” Gilbert replied.</p>
<p>“Me too. And I intend to figure it out,” Anne declared.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>The bus dropped them off about a mile from the address Roy had given them. They opted to walk to the house and fortunately, they did not encounter any monsters on the way. Anne was more than relieved. She had enough of monsters for the day and desperately wanted to rest.</p>
<p>Aside from the fact that the house was hidden deeply in the woods, the scenery around it was breathtaking. The rocky mountains looked like something out of a movie and the woods themselves felt kind of magical. A few dryads even waved to the three of them as they made their way through the foliage.</p>
<p>Even though the house was only a mile away from the bus stop, the hike to it felt like eternity. Anne could have sworn they were walking in circles. When they asked a few dryads for guidance, the dryads scurried away from them. After a few hours, Anne was so tired and sweaty from the dry Colorado heat that she was ready to give up.</p>
<p>But Gilbert was determined to keep them going, despite both Anne and Diana’s complaints. He bribed a young, wide-eyed dryad with a golden drachma, Ancient Greek currency, to get her to show them the way. The dryad took the drachma and reluctantly complied.</p>
<p>At around 3pm, three hours after they got off the bus, Gilbert finally managed to lead them to the house. For the entire hike, they were expecting a small cabin or cottage in the woods. So imagine their surprise when they actually saw the house.</p>
<p>Roy’s friend must’ve been rich or <em>something </em>because the house itself was huge. It was five stories high with Greek style columns and a beautiful fountain in the courtyard. Beside the house was a 100 foot waterfall that created a rainbow in the mist where the water met the pool of water.</p>
<p>“I guess we should ring the doorbell,” Anne said. She marched up the steps of the mansion, Gilbert and Diana following behind her.</p>
<p>Just as she was about to knock on the large door, it swung open to reveal a young man standing in the doorframe. He was most likely in his twenties with long brown hair that was tied in a ponytail and a curved jaw that made him look like a sculpture of a Greek god.</p>
<p>“Hi, you must be Anne!” He greeted her enthusiastically. “Roy told me you were coming. Come on in.”</p>
<p>He gestured the three of them to come into the house. “I’m Nate by the way, son of Nemesis, the goddess of Revenge.”</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>Nate excitedly gave them a tour of the house, leading the starry eyed teens up the huge spiral staircase and through the hallways decorated with Rococo art and Greek statues.</p>
<p>“My mother gifted me this house when I completed a quest in her name, several years ago. Back when I was at Camp Half-Blood. Like you lot,” Nate said.</p>
<p>“How do you know Roy?” Anne inquired.</p>
<p>“I lived in the Hermes cabin back when Roy first came to camp, almost eight years ago. I was 16 when I met him,” Nate explained. He paused for a moment, an indescribable expression on his face. “Children of minor gods are placed in the Hermes cabin cause our parents don’t have their own cabins at camp.”</p>
<p>“What was the quest you completed for your mother?” Gilbert asked.</p>
<p>Anne also had another question. “How do you know where the entrance to the Underworld is?”</p>
<p>Nate chuckled. “You guys ask a lot of questions.”</p>
<p>“We’re had a long day and a lot of time to think,” Anne said.</p>
<p>“I bet you did,” replied Nate. “It’s really hard to find my house, I’m surprised you guys managed to without a map.”</p>
<p>“Gilbert’s quite clever,” Anne told him.</p>
<p>Gilbert looked pleased with this compliment.</p>
<p>“How about you guys rest and make yourself at home? We can discuss everything at dinner,” Nate suggested.</p>
<p>Exhausted from the day’s events, the three of them eagerly agreed with this and let Nate show them to the rooms where they’d be spending the night. Diana and Anne were sharing a room while Gilbert had a room to himself.</p>
<p>The two girls entered the room and let out a collective squeal the moment the door shut behind them. If Anne had to design her dream room, this room would be it. It looked like a room fit for a queen. There was even a balcony that jutted out over the waterfall pool.</p>
<p>Anne flopped onto the bed, landing softly onto the pillows. Diana followed suit and they giggled, staring up at the ceiling that was painted to mirror the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.</p>
<p>Anne would have been content staying in this house forever if it weren’t for this quest. They had 11 days to go until the summer solstice, until Anne had to return the trident to Poseidon- and that’s only if they managed to retrieve it from Hades. She sighed and pushed the thought out of her mind, deciding to just forget about everything for a moment and rest.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>Anne woke up from her nap to the smell of delicious food wafting into the room.</p>
<p>Diana was no longer beside her so she rolled out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before making her way down the spiral staircase. She could hear Diana, Gilbert, and Nate laughing together.</p>
<p>Following the smell of the food and the sound of laughter, Anne walked through the house and stumbled into the dining room where the other three demigods were sitting at a table, a five course meal on top of it and a chandelier over their heads.</p>
<p>“Glad you decided to join us, Anne!” Nate exclaimed. “Here, you can sit here.” He pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for her to sit down.</p>
<p>Anne’s stomach grumbled and she happily obliged.</p>
<p>Dinner was wonderful. They ate like royalty while Nate recounted his own stories and adventures during his days at Camp Half-Blood. He even told a few about Roy which Anne and Diana definitely loved to hear about. Gilbert just rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Although Gilbert and Roy were like brothers, people always seemed to compare the two. He also did not like the way Anne’s eyes lit up at the mention of Roy’s name.</p>
<p>“So Roy went with you on your quest to the Underworld?” Anne asked, intrigued.</p>
<p>Nate’s expression turned stormy. “Yes. He accompanied me.”</p>
<p>“What was the quest exactly?”</p>
<p>“It doesn’t matter,” Nate answered quickly, “All that matters is that I know where the entrance is. in DOA Recording Studios. Although it’s easy to find, it’s difficult to actually get there, if you know what I mean.”</p>
<p>Anne nodded her head, even though she didn’t know what he meant.</p>
<p>The rest of dinner wrapped up pretty quickly after the mention of his past quest. They got the sense that Nate didn’t want to really talk about it.</p>
<p>Both Gilbert and Diana went to wash up after dinner, leaving Anne alone with Nate. It was the perfect opportunity for her to bring this up.</p>
<p>Anne took a deep breath. “Nate, could I ask you a favor?” </p>
<p>“Sure. What is it?”</p>
<p>“Roy mentioned you were good at making weapons?”</p>
<p>Nate nodded. “I dabble a bit in it, yeah.”</p>
<p>“I was wondering if you could make some alterations to my sword…”</p>
<p>“How so?” Nate asked, curious.</p>
<p>“I’m not great at controlling my powers yet and I wanted to know if there was a way for me to channel my power through my sword so I can properly summon electricity and lightning bolts.”</p>
<p>This got Nate excited. Anne could literally see the gears turning in his head.</p>
<p>“There definitely is. Where’s this sword of yours?”</p>
<p>Anne took the pen out of her pocket and uncapped Avonlea, the golden metal of the sword shimmering under the light of the chandelier.</p>
<p>Nate examined it for a moment, the sparkle returning to his eye. “I can do it tonight, if you’d like.”</p>
<p>“Really? I’d appreciate that so much!” Anne exclaimed. She handed him the sword and thanked him again before hurrying out of the room and rushing up the staircase to tell Diana the fantastic news.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>Later that night, Anne found herself standing on the balcony, looking out at the waterfall. Diana had passed out the moment her head hit the pillow, but the nap Anne took earlier meant she was wide awake right now.</p>
<p>The water looked silver underneath the moonlight. </p>
<p>She heard the door to Gilbert’s room slide open and he walked out onto the balcony next to the one Anne was on. He was freshly showered, his hair dripping water droplets onto his Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Anne couldn’t help but think how dashing he looked underneath the moonlight. And for once, she didn’t feel annoyed with herself for thinking it.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he said from across the balcony.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she said back, a content smile on her face.</p>
<p>“You know, I’m really good at reading people. Always been told it’s a gift of Athena,” Gilbert said out of nowhere. He scratched the back of his neck, something Anne noticed was a habit of his. “But I’ve never been able to read you.”</p>
<p>She waited for him to make his point.</p>
<p>“Like right now, for instance, I have no clue what you’re thinking. If you’re scared or nervous or stressed about how the rest of this quest is gonna go… I can’t tell,” he said. “The only time that I know how you’re feeling is when you’re mad.”</p>
<p>Anne laughed at this. “To be fair, I have a really bad temper. It’s probably my fatal flaw.”</p>
<p>“That’s true.” A smile tugged at Gilbert’s lips.</p>
<p>She sighed and looked back out at the waterfall. “I think you probably can’t read me because I don’t even know how <em>I </em>feel. This world… that I’ve been thrown into all of sudden is so crazy and unfamiliar and I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, but at the same time, I can’t fully process it. Just a few weeks ago I was a lonely orphan who had no hope for a future. And now, here I am, in charge of a quest to stop a war between my father and his brother. It just doesn’t feel real.”</p>
<p>“But maybe that’s what makes you such a good leader.”</p>
<p>Anne turned to him and quirked an eyebrow. “Huh?”</p>
<p>“The fact that you were able to adapt so quickly to this world, despite not knowing anything about your powers or capabilities,” Gilbert replied. “Not to mention how brave you are. Honest to the gods, I’ve never met a brand new demigod who runs so willingly into fights.”</p>
<p>“Guess I just hate bullies,” Anne said, laughing a bit. She paused. “But thanks Gilbert. For making me feel like maybe I’m not the worst leader ever.”</p>
<p>He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just the truth.”</p>
<p>They stood on the two separate balconies in a peaceful silence, both of them admiring the tranquility of the waterfall in the moonlight. For a moment, she felt like Gilbert was right. She was a good leader, or at least she’d become a great leader, one day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this chapter's not my best so I'm sorry if it seems kind of long and all over the place!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. what happens in vegas stays in vegas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the first time in a long time, Anne had an uninterrupted night of sleep with no prophetic dreams or nightmares. She woke up bright and early just as the sun had begun to rise, feeling well-rested and ready for the day.</p><p>Before they went to bed last night, Nate had suggested they leave for Los Angelos at 9am. Anne could tell by the way the sun was just beginning to peak through the curtains that it wasn’t even 6am yet. Outside, she could hear the birds chirping and the dryads and other nature spirits whispering amongst themselves.</p><p>Beside her, Diana was sleeping peacefully and Anne decided not to wake her up. She carefully crept out of bed and out onto the balcony. There was someone she needed to call.</p><p>Anne peered over the railing of the balcony at the bottom of the waterfall where the mist created a rainbow. She remembered what Jerry had said about Iris Messaging and tossed a drachma into the pool of water. It landed with a splash. She closed her eyes tightly and said, <em>“Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Jerry.”</em></p><p>For a moment, nothing happened. But then, a shimmering image appeared in front of Anne. It was Jerry. He was asleep underneath one of the oak trees at camp.</p><p>“Jerry! Wake up!”</p><p>Jerry shot awake at the sound of Anne’s voice, looking around frantically.</p><p>“Jerry, I’m right here,” she said, waving her arms.</p><p>He finally turned to face the image and let out an excited cry when he saw Anne.</p><p>“Anne!” he exclaimed. “There was nothing but radio silence from you for days. I was really worried. How’s the quest going?”</p><p>She told him about all of the crazy things that had happened since they left camp four days ago. “We’re leaving for Los Angelos this morning. And with so much time to spare! Not gonna lie, I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”</p><p>“I can’t believe you caused that explosion… you said Nate was altering your sword?”</p><p>She nodded. “Speaking of Nate, I wanted to ask you something. You knew Nate when he was a camper right? What happened on his quest? Or what even was his quest? He wouldn’t tell us about it in detail but I’m really curious.”</p><p>Jerry had to think hard before answering. “Bash never disclosed information about what the actual quest was to any of the campers. I know Nate took Roy with him because Roy really looked up to him but after the quest, Roy didn’t give any details about what happened. Neither of them did, actually. Both of them were… really different after the quest.”</p><p>“Different? How so?” Anne pressed.</p><p>“Well, Roy was 14 at the time and was the most outgoing demigod I had ever met. When he returned, however, it was like a switch went off. He was still super nice to everyone but it just seemed like he was putting up a front. But maybe I’m just reading into things.”</p><p>Anne contemplated this for a moment. She always thought Roy was super nice to her, but she never felt like he was faking it. Then again, she didn’t know him before that quest.</p><p>“As for Nate,” Jerry continued, “He was always a little strange… Being the son of Nemesis and all meant he was angry a lot. But he was still a great fighter and everything, and he was really excited when his mother gave him the quest. After the quest though, he decided to leave camp for good and go out on his own at 18 years old. Roy didn’t take this well but tried to hide how upset he was.”</p><p>“But that shouldn’t be surprising, right? Like going to the Underworld when you’re still alive has got to change a person. It’s understandable if you’d want to leave the demigod world for good after being there,” she reasoned.</p><p>“The Underworld?” Jerry asked suddenly.</p><p>“Yeah. Wasn’t that where their quest took them?”</p><p>A look of confusion flashed across Jerry’s face. “I never heard of them going to the Underworld…” he paused when he saw Anne’s face, “But no one really knows what happened on their quest so who knows? They definitely could have gone there.”</p><p>Anne decided to end their conversation there. She had a lot to think about, regarding Nate and Roy and whatever happened to them, and an updated version of Avonlea to retrieve.</p><p>“I should get going, but tell Miss. Stacy that we’re okay and that we should be in Los Angelos in two days,” Anne told him.</p><p>Jerry nodded. “Good luck. I miss you!”</p><p>Anne smiled sadly at him before waving her hand over the mist. The image of Jerry was gone in an instant.</p><p>~</p><p>Nate’s choice of transportation was his huge, red pickup truck. He was really disappointed when Anne told him they couldn’t take the flying chariot because of the complications of flying in Zeus’s domain amidst the brewing war.</p><p>Nevertheless, they packed themselves into the pickup truck and continued their journey to Los Angelos.</p><p>Nate had given Avonlea back to Anne before they got in the truck and she received it with great gratitude and a lot of excitement. She fiddled with the pen in her hands as they drove through the forest, feeling an overwhelming urge to unsheathe the sword and see what it could do.</p><p>When Anne showed her friends her new weapon, Gilbert inspected it curiously, intrigued by how quickly Nate was able to carry out Anne’s requests.</p><p>The trip from Denver to Los Angelos would take them 15 hours so Nate suggested that once it got late, they should stop and stay the night in a hotel. No one argued with this.</p><p>“I know a great hotel right in the middle of Vegas. Super fancy and fun, but not too expensive,” Nate told them.</p><p>As the hours went by, the scenery changed from green forests and mountainous views to dry, arid desert land. Anne couldn’t help but think of her dream, the one with the flaming torch and the talking eagle. Even though it had just been a dream, she knew it was foreshadowing something and she wanted nothing more than to be out of the desert immediately. But to her disappointment, the long stretch of highway that went through the desert was seemingly endless.</p><p>Gilbert looked a bit pale as the truck jerkily bounced up and down down the road. A pickup truck was definitely not the most optimum vehicle for a long road trip. In an attempt to ease his stomach, he opted to close his eyes.</p><p>Diana, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the ride and the fast passing view of the desert, with its cacti, orange sand, and blue sky. The sun was high in the sky, practically blinding Nate as he drove. He had to put on a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes as he hummed along with the radio.</p><p>“Isn’t it just lovely, Anne?” Diana remarked, her gaze set on the horizon.</p><p>Anne had to stifle a laugh. “<em>The desert</em>?”</p><p>“Yes! It’s so different from the city and camp,” replied Diana, “It seems so empty and quiet but there’s a whole world that exists in it, a world we’re not apart of.”</p><p>“All I see is dry heat and oblivion,” Anne stated plainly. <em>And where I screw everything up and bring war upon Olympus, </em>she thought to herself.</p><p>“You know, my father, Apollo… he’s the god of the sun,” said Diana, squinting as she looked in the direction of the sun. “Helios was the original sun god but he faded after the fall of the Romans. And Apollo took over the role of flying the sun chariot around earth.”</p><p>This was new information for Anne. She knew Apollo was the god of light but she just assumed it was more in a metaphorical sense. “<em>Oh.</em> So he’s literally the god of the sun.”</p><p>Diana nodded. “Ever since Apollo claimed me, it’s been my dream to ride in the sun chariot with him. Maybe even drive it. Just once,” she continued. Her eyes seemed far away as she stared out into the desert. “If he let me drive the chariot, then I would know that I made him proud. That I was worthy.”</p><p>From the front, Nate made a strange noise that Anne chose to ignore.</p><p>“I’m sure he’s proud of you, Diana. You’re the best healer at camp and although you’ve never sung for me, everyone says you have the voice of an angel!” Anne reassured her.</p><p>“I know, but even if I was the best healer, the best singer, the best archer the world had ever seen, it doesn’t matter if my father doesn’t care. I want <em>him</em> to <em>see </em>me,” Diana said wistfully and sighed. “Driving through the desert, being so close to the sun… it makes me feel closer to him, I suppose. And I’ve never even met him.”</p><p>Anne rested a comforting hand on top of Diana’s. She understood how Diana felt. She wanted Zeus to <em>truly </em>see her too. She wanted him to be glad he claimed her. Even if she never met him in person, she wanted to know that she made her father proud.</p><p>As for her mother, Anne desperately wanted to know her, to see her and hold her in her arms. But she knew this wasn’t a possibility. And Mormo’s mist manipulation only hurt Anne more, knowing that she’d never actually be able to see her. After all, her mother was dead.</p><p>~</p><p>By the time they arrived in Vegas, it was almost 10pm and Nate looked like he could pass out any minute from driving for so long. Despite the fact that he was ready to go to bed, it seemed like for most people, the night was only just beginning.</p><p>There were people littered across the streets, lined up to get into bars and clubs. Neon signs and bright billboards were in every direction Anne looked. It was almost suffocating.</p><p>Finally, Nate pulled in front of a huge hotel.</p><p>“You guys go on and check in, I’ll be right behind you. I’m gonna park across the street, over there. I don’t trust the valet here,” Nate told them, eying one of the valet workers who was just minding his business.</p><p>Meanwhile, Gilbert just seemed relieved to be out of that metal death trap. Anne wanted to laugh so hard- who would’ve thought Gilbert Blythe of all people couldn’t handle a few bumps in the road?</p><p>The three of them made their way into the hotel, immediately enthralled by what they saw. First of all, the lobby itself was the size of Nate’s mansion. The walls were lined with arcade games with people lining up to play them.</p><p>There was a funny smell but Anne couldn’t quite place it. It was a very sweet smell, subtle but still there. She forgot about it the moment the nice hotel receptionist lady greeted them with a huge smile on her face and offered to show them to their room. Anne was so captivated by her surroundings to realize that they hadn’t even checked in.</p><p>The receptionist led them to their room- an incredibly fancy suite that was bigger than the cabins at camp. They couldn’t believe their eyes.</p><p>“Room service is free and the arcade, pool, bowling alley, and funhouse are open 24/7. The amusement park, however, is temporarily closed for renovations,” the receptionist stated cheerfully before leaving them alone in the suite.</p><p>“This place is crazy!” Anne exclaimed.</p><p>“Should we go check out the arcade?” Gilbert asked.</p><p>The girls nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>~</p><p>When they walked into the arcade, all of their jaws collectively hit the floor. Every single arcade game you could think of was there. It was like a childhood dream come true. And everyone in the arcade seemed to be having a great time.</p><p>A game of Pac-man caught Anne’s eye and she rushed over to it, completely forgetting about Gilbert and Diana.</p><p>She was determined to get the highest score. As she guided the Pac-man to eat a bunch of colorful ghosts for the 100th time, she laughed out loud. She couldn’t believe how much fun she was having. A crazy amount of fun. <em>Playing Pac-man.</em></p><p>Wait, what? What was she even doing here?</p><p>She glanced at the Pac-man game in question and spun to look at the people around her, disoriented and searching for Gilbert and Diana. In her panic, she accidentally bumped into a boy. He looked to be about her age but was much taller than her.</p><p>“Sorry!” she said.</p><p>But he paid no attention to her, he was too focused on the game he was playing. That’s when she realized how outdated his clothes were. He was dressed in pinstriped trousers and wore a newsboy hat on his head. She looked around at a few other people in the arcade. There were people of all ages and genders, but they were all dressed like they were from different time periods too.</p><p>A terrifying thought slowly seeped into Anne’s mind.</p><p>She frantically tapped the boy on the shoulder. “Excuse me?”</p><p>No response.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Frustrated, she grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face her.</p><p>“Hey! You interrupted my game,” the boy complained.</p><p>“What year is it?” Anne demanded.</p><p>“1938,” he stated plainly and turned back to his game.</p><p>Anne almost collapsed right then and there when it dawned on her. She suddenly understood what was happening and needed to find Gilbert and Diana right now. She was about to run off to search for them when something stopped her.</p><p>“What’s your name?” Anne asked the boy.</p><p>“Cole,” he replied, not taking his eyes off of the game.</p><p>“Okay Cole, I can’t explain how I know this but you need to get out of this hotel now. It’s trapping you in some time warp,” she warned him.</p><p>Cole didn’t move a muscle. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He waved her off, like she was some annoying fly.</p><p>“Please. Just listen to me.”</p><p>But he didn’t reply.</p><p>Anne sighed and hurried off, glancing back at him sadly. She needed to find her friends before they ended up like him. Stuck in 1938 forever.</p><p>She ran into Gilbert at a game of Whack-A-Mole. And he was whacking the moles quite hard.</p><p>“Gilbert!” she exclaimed, shaking him. “Snap out of it, we need to leave now.”</p><p>He was too focused on hitting the annoying moles to listen to her.</p><p>“Gilbert, can’t you see? This is a trap!” she cried.</p><p>“Anne, how can this be a trap when I’m having so much fun?” he countered, smacking the mole right in the middle. The buzzer went off and hundreds of tickets spewed out and into Gilbert’s victorious hands.</p><p>“Just forget the game. We need to leave,” Anne ordered.</p><p>She attempted to drag him away but he held his ground, counting the tickets in a daze.</p><p>How could she snap him out of it? She searched her mind for something to wake him up. Electricity? Too dangerous- she doesn’t know her powers well enough and could kill him. A slap across the face? That might just annoy him.</p><p>Beside her, Gilbert continued to count his tickets. She let out a frustrated groan. They were running out of time and needed to find Diana.</p><p>Just as he was about to play another round, Anne impulsively sprung to action. Without fully thinking it through, she cupped his face, pulled his head down to meet her height, closed her eyes, and kissed him square on the lips.</p><p>The tickets fell out of his hands and landed on the floor.</p><p>When she pulled away, she immediately knew that it worked. He stared at her in pure shock, his grey eyes masked by his dilated pupils.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> It looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.</span></p><p>For once, Gilbert Blythe was speechless.</p><p>But Anne was too wrapped up in getting the hell out of there to dwell on the fact that she just kissed him. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him behind her, scanning the room for Diana.</p><p>She finally spotted Diana in the corner of the arcade playing Guitar Hero.</p><p>“Diana, we’re leaving,” Anne said.</p><p>“What? No, I just-”</p><p>This time, Anne wasn’t having it. She grabbed Diana and hauled her away from the game, despite Diana’s desperate pleas against it.</p><p>They stumbled out of the arcade and into the lobby where the receptionist lady was. She looked genuinely upset.</p><p>“You guys are leaving?” she asked, frowning.</p><p>“We’ve had enough games for today,” Anne replied.</p><p>“But you haven’t even had the opportunity to see the new amusement park!” complained the receptionist.</p><p>“Maybe next time!” Anne said before grabbing Diana and Gilbert and running through the doors.</p><p>The moment they stepped out into the street, Diana snapped out of the trance. But before Diana could ask what just happened, Anne let out a gasp. The sun was out. It was daytime. How long had they been in there for?</p><p>Gilbert suddenly sprung forward, startling Anne and Diana. “Oh my gods, how did I not realize it before? That smell… It was lotus flowers. We fell into one of the lotus-eaters’ traps!”</p><p>Anne wanted to cry. She didn’t even want to know how much time they lost.</p><p>“What about Nate?” Diana asked, worried.</p><p>“Oh no, I didn’t even think about him!” cried Anne. She turned to run back inside but Gilbert stopped her.</p><p>“Let go of me! We need to get him out of there!”</p><p>Gilbert shook his head and wordlessly pointed across the street where Nate told them he was going to park. His truck was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>Anne faltered. “If he never went inside… you don’t think something happened to him, do you?”</p><p>There was a stormy expression on Gilbert’s face, like he had just been betrayed.</p><p>But Anne didn’t want to believe it. “No, he wouldn’t… he’s Roy’s friend. Why would he…”</p><p>“Guys, I think Nate’s the least of our problems,” Diana spoke out. She was staring at the date on one of the billboards.</p><p>It was June 13th.</p><p>They were trapped in there for seven days. She had played Pac-man for an entire week.</p><p>And there was only three days left until the summer solstice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yay for one of my favorite characters ever aka cole</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. think pink</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the crushing realization that they were stranded in Vegas set in, Anne was determined not to let Nate’s disappearance set them back.She had to believe her newfound friend wouldn’t have betrayed them like that. Besides, maybe he wanted to keep them from going to the Underworld because of what happened to him down there. Maybe he was trying to keep them safe.</p><p>Whatever his reason was for trapping them in the hotel wasn’t important right now. What mattered was finishing the quest.</p><p>Anne rallied Diana and Gilbert and decided that with no money and no other way of transportation, hitchhiking was their only option.</p><p>And that’s how they ended up on the side of the road holding their thumbs out to passing traffic.</p><p>Despite Gilbert’s concerns that hitchhiking was an extremely outdated practice and no one would actually stop for them, Anne remained hopeful. Hope was the only thing she had after all.</p><p>As they stood in the unforgiving desert heat, all Anne could think about was that boy, Cole. She wondered how long he thought he’d been in that hotel for. A day? A week? A month? Who knows. The only thing she knew was that he’d been in there for 82 years and showed no indication of wanting to leave. The lotus-eaters had trapped him with their lotus flower smell and addicting games.</p><p>She wondered if there was anything she could have done to snap him out of his trance. Although she knew the answer was likely nothing, she still couldn’t help but feel guilty for not doing more. He was probably the same age as her, with goals and aspirations and his whole life ahead of him, and he might never get to achieve them.</p><p>Anne was sweating now, the sun beating down on her and probably giving her a decent burn. She glanced at Diana who didn’t seem to mind the sun- she was probably thinking about her father.</p><p>Suddenly, a red Maserati that was speeding down the freeway came to an abrupt stop in front of them, its wheels skidding on the ground. The driver revved the engine for show before stepping out of the car, revealing himself to be a muscular man with jet black hair and a pair of black sunglasses on his face. He wore a leather jacket with flames on the back of it.</p><p>Looking at him filled Anne with a feeling of fury she’d never felt before. She had the sudden urge to just clock him over the head.</p><p>“Hello demigods,” the man said, propping his sunglasses up with a mischievous grin on his face. ”Fancy seeing you here.”</p><p>“Ares,” Gilbert stated.</p><p>Anne quickly understood why she was filled with so much rage just by looking at him. Standing before them was Ares, the god of war and violence.</p><p>“You know, when I was told three demigods were standing on the side of the freeway, I knew I had to come check it out myself,” Ares replied. He turned to look at Anne. “I was also curious to meet the girl who sent five of my sons to the infirmary.”</p><p>She gritted her teeth. “Billy was asking for it.”</p><p>“I’m sure he was. He’s always getting himself into trouble, that boy. He gets that from me,” Ares said, a sense of pride evident in his voice.</p><p>That almost made Anne laugh out loud but she stopped herself, rolling her eyes instead. She opened her mouth to insult him when she saw Gilbert giving her a look. With a sigh, she bit her tongue and looked Ares right in the eye.</p><p>“Can I ask what you’re doing here?” she demanded.</p><p>“I need you to do a favor for me,” Ares answered.</p><p>She crossed her arms defiantly. “And why would we help <em>you</em>?”</p><p>“Anne, he’s a <em>god</em>,” Diana said in a frantic, hushed voice, “if he asks you to do something for him, you have to do it.”</p><p>“Listen to your friend, cousin. You do not want to make an enemy out of me,” Ares said, narrowing his eyes at her.</p><p>“Fine,” she huffed. “But we don’t have that much time. We have somewhere to be.”</p><p>“Some cyclops stole something of mine and I need you to retrieve it for me. Shouldn’t take too long.”</p><p>In her peripheral vision, Anne could see Gilbert tense up at the mention of a cyclops.</p><p>“You get what’s mine back to me and I’ll help you in return,” Ares offered.</p><p>Anne looked at Diana and Gilbert for their opinions.</p><p>“Might as well. We have no other options,” advised Diana.</p><p>Meanwhile, Gilbert was quiet and couldn’t look Anne in the eye.</p><p>“I suppose we can help you then. As long as you <em>swear</em> to help us,” Anne decided.</p><p>“No problem,” Ares said before turning to point to a mountain in the desert about five miles away from where they were standing. “That’s where the cyclops are. Good luck!”</p><p>Anne squinted in the direction of the mountain. It had to be a two hour trek, at least. “Wait, you aren’t even gonna give us a ride?”</p><p>But when she turned around, Ares and his Maserati were gone.</p><p>“Well, now what?” Anne asked her friends.</p><p>“Looks like we’re going on a hike,” Gilbert replied with a frown.</p><p>Anne wanted to ask him what was wrong but ultimately decided against it. They had a mini quest from the god of war to deal with.</p><p>The hike to the mountain was awful to say the least. Anne felt like there was enough sweat on her body and clothes to fill a bucket. Luckily, by the time they reached the mountain, the sun had begun to set which meant the temperature was going down.</p><p>“So, do you guys think we’re gonna have to fight these cyclops or what?” Anne said as they neared the cyclops cave.</p><p>She had read a little about cyclops in the past but had never actually met one. With one eye, cyclops were large creatures and could grow to be giants. Many younger cyclops were abandoned as children and had to learn to fend for themselves while ancient ones were so scary they were even feared by monsters. Their abilities were frightening: superhuman strength, superhuman hearing, fire immunity, the ability to mimic voices, the list goes on.</p><p>Anne noted how drained she felt and wondered if she was even capable of fighting a cyclops right now.</p><p>“They could be peaceful cyclops,” Diana guessed warily.</p><p>“That’s highly unlikely,” Gilbert deadpanned, his tone of voice earning an eyebrow raise from Anne.</p><p>When they reached the cyclops’ cave, Anne peered in and was immediately filled with concern. It was massive- at least 20 feet high- and that meant these cyclops had to be a decent size themselves. They crept in, trying to remain as quiet as possible.</p><p>That’s when a voice thundered throughout the cave.</p><p>“Marcellus, do you smell that?” It was a coarse woman’s voice.</p><p>“Smells like… demigods,” Another voice replied, this one more masculine.</p><p>Anne froze, her hand instinctively flying down to grab Avonlea in her pocket. There was nowhere to hide. Behind her, Gilbert’s hand was also on his sword while Diana had her bow ready.</p><p>Two huge shadows appeared on the wall and they could hear large steps stomping on the ground.</p><p>The first thing Anne noticed about the two cyclops were their huge eyes, or eye. Standing at least 15 feet tall, both cyclops were extremely ugly. She remembered that they were often seen as rejects in Olympus society. For a moment, she felt kind of bad for them (which she would take back later).</p><p>“Ah, you were right, Marcellus!” The woman cyclops squealed when she eyed the three of them.</p><p>“Talk about perfect timing!” exclaimed the one named Marcellus. He grinned, practically licking his lips as he stared at the demigods shaking in fear before him. “Valeria, will you go tell the others to settle in their seats? The entertainment has just arrived.”</p><hr/><p>If you asked Anne how she ended up standing in the middle of an illegal Roman amphitheater concealed from mortals by the mist with seats filled with monsters as spectators, she would’ve cursed Ares to the end of time.</p><p>Next to her stood Gilbert who was trying to look braver than he was. He stood up straight in an attempt to look bigger, but knew it wasn’t working by the way the monsters and cyclops alike were cackling at him. He glanced at Anne, the words written all over his face. What were they planning to do with them?</p><p>Once Marcellus had seen them standing in the cave, he didn’t attack them or try to eat them. He was actually quite polite, before forcing them to stand in front of an audience of monsters who looked extremely hungry, of course. He simply offered them a choice: do as he says or suffer a painful death. Clearly, they went with the former.</p><p>However, Diana wasn’t standing with Anne and Gilbert in the arena. Marcellus had thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met, in this century, and insisted she sat up at the top with him and Valeria. Anne locked eyes with Diana who looked just as terrified as Anne felt.</p><p>Anne prayed to Zeus that they weren’t going to make Anne and Gilbert fight to the death and by the expression on Gilbert’s face, she knew he was doing the same.</p><p>That’s when Valeria’s piercing voice boomed over the speaker.</p><p>“Today, we have a special event for you. Demigods, but not just any demigods. A son of Athena and a daughter of Zeus!”</p><p>The crowd went absolutely crazy.</p><p>She spoke again, this time directed towards Anne and Gilbert. “It will be a competition between the two of you. Impress us.”</p><p>Anne and Gilbert locked eyes, both of them confused. The crowd was silent as they waited in anticipation.</p><p>“Impress you? How?” Anne shouted.</p><p>“Entertain us!” Marcellus replied. A couple monsters in the audience grunted in agreement.</p><p>“Whoever impresses us the most wins this,” Valeria continued. She held up a pink scarf that sparkled in the light. </p><p>Anne scoffed. A pink scarf? That’s what they were competing for?</p><p>“And the loser… well the loser dies, of course,” the cyclops finished, much to Anne and Gilbert’s horror.</p><p>The audience erupted into a chorus of cheers- everyone but Diana who practically shrank in her seat.</p><p>Anne had no idea what to do. She needed to buy time to make a plan and looked at Gilbert, urging him to go first. Gilbert wanted to argue but with an entire audience of monsters staring at him, he knew he had no choice.</p><p>His mind was blank as he stepped forward. Even though he had many special abilities, how could he showcase any of them? Natural fighting skills, intelligence, among other things couldn’t really be demonstrated in this situation.</p><p>That’s when it hit him.</p><p>He whipped around to face Anne and mouthed the words: Follow my lead.</p><p>“I see what you’re doing!" he shouted.</p><p>Marcellus and Valeria looked startled.</p><p>"You want this competition to be like the one between Athena and Poseidon for the honor of Athens, don’t you? You want one of us to impress you, to prove we are worthy in some sort of sick, twisted way,” he went on, looking around at the rest of audience as well. “Making us do this… making demigods do as you please and compete in objectifying events like this… it’s all a ploy to make you feel like gods. Because you were abandoned by them.”</p><p>To be frank, Gilbert was purely speculating at this point, basing everything he was saying off of his intuition. He had no idea if the cyclops actually felt this way but he had to do something and fortunately, Anne quickly caught on.</p><p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Marcellus bellowed.</p><p>“But I do. You see, as the son of Athena, I’m very intelligent,” replied Gilbert matter-of-factly. “And I also happen to know that you fear the gods, you <em>respect </em>the gods, as much as you resent them.”</p><p>“How dare you!” Valeria hissed.</p><p>Diana was tense between the two cyclops but when she made eye contact with Anne, she suddenly understood what was happening.</p><p>“So imagine Zeus’s anger when he realizes you’ve kidnapped his only daughter, his pride and joy, and forced her into playing one of your silly games that mimic the stories of the gods!” Gilbert continued, “Do you really want to face the wrath of <em>Zeus</em>?”</p><p>Anne gripped Avonlea tightly in her hand with her eyes closed tight. She focused hard on her power, trying to draw all of her energy to the knot in her stomach. Boy, she hoped this worked.</p><p>“You’re bluffing!” Marcellus cried, “Zeus doesn’t know about our amphitheater! He doesn’t know that we have his daughter!”</p><p>Gilbert raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”</p><p>That’s when Anne discreetly stabbed her sword into the ground. A lightning bolt shot out of the sky, striking the ground in front of her.</p><p>The crowd gasped, looking to Marcellus and Valeria for a reaction.</p><p>“Looks like he does,” Gilbert stated simply.</p><p>Marcellus and Valeria looked to the sky fearfully.</p><p>Anne willed her strength to summon another bolt, this time striking right where Marcellus was sitting. The monsters were too focused on the cyclops to noticed her hit the ground with her sword.</p><p>Marcellus let out a terrified shriek.</p><p>“Forgive me, Zeus!” he cried before standing up and running away. Valeria followed his lead.</p><p>The entire arena was in chaos as monsters fought and tumbled over each other trying to escape. No one wanted to witness an angry Zeus.</p><p>Seizing the opportunity to escape, Gilbert grabbed Anne by the hand and ran out of arena. Diana had managed to sneak out the back exit at the top where her seat was and met them outside. Together, the three of them sprinted down the mountain and didn’t stop until they were a safe distance away from the monster infested amphitheater.</p><p>Anne felt dizzy from summoning that much power but Gilbert placed his arm around her waist to steady her, as he always did. <em>Oh Gilbert, always so attentive</em>, Anne thought to herself.</p><p>“You guys were brilliant in there!” exclaimed Diana, panting.</p><p>Anne managed a laugh. “It was all Gilbert.”</p><p>“I’m not the one who summoned two <em>lightning bolts</em> from the sky,” Gilbert quipped.</p><p>“But <em>you</em> were the one who tricked them in the first place,” retorted Anne.</p><p>“But they wouldn’t have believed Zeus was watching them without the lightning bolts,” said Gilbert.</p><p>“But-”</p><p>“Okay, okay, stop that. It was a team effort,” decided Diana with a grin.</p><p>Then Anne remembered why they were even there in the first place. “Wait, but what are we gonna tell Ares? We didn’t retrieve whatever was taken from him.”</p><p>“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Diana said. She pulled something out of her bag and revealed it to them.</p><p>It was the sparkly pink scarf.</p><p>“Diana Barry, you sneaky genius!” exclaimed Anne, taking the scarf from her and examining it.</p><p>“How did you manage to get that?” Gilbert asked.</p><p>“When Valeria ran away, she dropped it in all the chaos. I saw the opportunity and I took it!”</p><p>“And we’re sure this is what Ares wanted?” Anne said.</p><p>Suddenly, the red Maserati appeared and pulled up beside them again. The door flew open and Ares got out, ever so confident. He snatched the scarf from Anne.</p><p>“I’ll take that,” Ares declared.</p><p>“Are you going to hold up on your end of the deal or what?” Anne replied.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I will,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But the Missus wants to meet you first.”</p><p>The Missus? All three demigod heads turned around to look at the car. There was a glowing pink presence in the passenger seat. It seemed to float out of the car before Ares handed the pink scarf to it.</p><p>Anne couldn’t believe her eyes. Up until this very moment, she had never seen someone so beautiful before. Her red dress flowed gracefully as she walked and her hair fell perfectly around her shoulders as a warm pink light surrounded her body. However, Anne could not bring herself to describe her face. It seemed to change from model to movie star to every beautiful woman Anne had ever wanted to look like, growing increasingly more beautiful by the second.</p><p>It was like the word ‘beautiful’ was made for this one woman standing in front of her. And that’s when she knew.</p><p>“Aphrodite,” They all greeted in unison.</p><p>The three of them bowed their heads in awed respect.</p><p>“You three are so sweet,” Aphrodite cooed, flipping her hair.</p><p>Ares stood to the side looking uncomfortable and less cool than he looked a few moments ago. Anne suddenly realized that the scarf belonged to Aphrodite.</p><p>“As much as I would love to talk to all three of you,” the goddess started, “I only really want to talk to you.” She pointed a long, slender finger at Gilbert who went wide-eyed. “Shall we go on a walk?”</p><p>Gilbert shyly trudged forward and offered Aphrodite his arm. She took it with a charming smile and the two of them walked away to discuss something.</p><p>As soon as Aphrodite was gone, Anne was snapped back to normal. Well, as normal as one can be in the presence of Ares.</p><p>“If you wanted the scarf so badly, why didn’t you get it yourself? Wouldn’t they have been scared of you and given it back?” Anne questioned Ares.</p><p>Ares briefly looked embarrassed. “If only it were that easy,” he grumbled. “But if good old Hephaestus found out I was trying to retrieve his wife’s scarf, he would’ve gone to town with that one.”</p><p>Anne had to stifle a laugh, remembering the legendary affair between Ares and Aphrodite who was married to Hephaestus. Its basic knowledge that the two of them had been sneaking around Olympus for thousands of years. In his anger, Hephaestus had spent an eternity trying to catch the two of them together and humiliate them.</p><p>“Anyways, here’s your promised reward.” Ares gruffly thrusted a black backpack towards Anne.</p><hr/><p>Gilbert had heard rumors about Aphrodite’s captivating beauty but he never expected himself to be as enchanted by her as he was.</p><p>Her hair, her body, her dress, everything about her was perfect. It was like something out of a heterosexual teenage boy’s fantasy.</p><p>But her face… it shifted constantly. At some moments, he couldn’t help but think she resembled Anne a bit.</p><p>Aphrodite seemed to know what he was thinking because she smiled at him knowingly.</p><p>“I look like her, don’t I?” she asked him.</p><p>Gilbert was at a loss for words, barely able to form a coherent sentence. “Um…uh…you…who?”</p><p>“Anne. I look like Anne to you, don’t I?” she repeated.</p><p>He managed to nod his head.</p><p>“She’s cute but definitely needs work. A lot of it. Maybe a trim or two, proper styling, some makeup… but I understand. Young love and all.” Aphrodite smiled again, her teeth a dazzling white color.</p><p>“What… what are you…” Gilbert couldn’t get the words out.</p><p>“What am I saying? I’m saying I’m invested. In you!” Aphrodite squealed. “I just love a good love story. And you and Anne’s… it’s just perfect! An orphan meets a cute boy, they don’t get along at first, the boy’s crushing hard, then slowly they become friends, equals, and finally, lovers! It’s textbook!” She held a hand to her chest, sighing as if she was in love.</p><p>Her words were like syrup, processing in Gilbert’s head slowly and hazily.</p><p>“But it can’t come easily,” she continued. “What’s a true romance without a few bumps in the road?”</p><p>“I, uh… normal?” he tried.</p><p>Aphrodite looked offended. “All you Athena offspring don’t prioritize love enough! And I already have to deal with your mother’s annoyingly self-righteous attitude, constantly complaining about <em>my </em>so-called ‘immodest’ attitude…so annoying.”</p><p>“I… sorry?”</p><p>“It’s fine. Just don’t do it again,” she scolded him.</p><p>“Do what-”</p><p>Aphrodite cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Anyways, I have a gift for you.” She pulled out two glistening pearls from her purse.</p><p>Gilbert immediately recognized them as Poseidon’s Pearls.</p><p>“A sea spirit owed me a favor,” she explained upon seeing his face. “Keep them safe. I’m sure you’ll know when to use them.”</p><p>Aphrodite placed the two pearls into the palm of his hand, closing it tightly in her’s.</p><p>Her voice softened. “I know you’ve seen darkness in your short lifetime, boy. But this girl is light. Remember that.”</p><p>The words echoed in his mind as Aphrodite led the two of them back to the Maserati where Ares, Anne, and Diana were waiting for them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I just wanted to say that Marcellus and Valeria are completely made up characters and not based off any greek myths.</p><p>thank you for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. the city of angels</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Gilbert and Aphrodite returned from their walk, Ares reluctantly called them an Uber and paid a hefty amount to the driver. Anne knew she wasn’t the only one finding irony in an Ancient Greek God using Uber to help them with their quest but she didn’t bring it up, knowing she had to tread lightly while Ares was still around. The backpack Ares gave them was heavy but she didn’t dare look inside it until they were safely in the Uber and away from the unpredictable gods.</p><p>Pleased with how the events of the night went, Ares and Aphrodite waved goodbye to the demigods (well, Aphrodite did) and got into the Maserati before speeding away and disappearing into the darkness.</p><p>As soon as the three of them got into the Uber, Anne’s curiosity got the best of her and she unzipped the backpack. She audibly gasped when she saw what was inside. Golden drachmas.</p><p>“Wow. Ares really kept up his end of the bargain,” Gilbert said, “I honestly didn’t think he would.”</p><p>Anne reached into the backpack, a few golden drachmas falling through her fingers. “In all my life, I’ve never been in the presence of this much money until now.”</p><p>Next to her, Diana stirred and leaned her head against the window. “I don’t know about you guys but I’m exhausted,” she yawned, closing her eyes. “Wake me up when we’re in the city of angels!”</p><p>It was past midnight and the ride to Los Angelos would take about four hours so Anne settled into her seat and rested her eyes. As much as she wanted to ask Gilbert what his conversation with Aphrodite was about and why he seemed to hate cyclops more than the average demigod, she could tell he was too tired to talk as well. And who knows, this could be the last night of sleep she’d ever get.</p><hr/><p>Anne woke up to Gilbert shaking her.</p><p>“Anne, wake up,” he said softly, “We’re here.”</p><p>The sky was a dark purple-blue, the sun still tucked away but stirring to break, as soon as Apollo decided it was time to drive the chariot across the sky. Anne glanced out the window of the car and watched the city of Los Angelos slowly begin to wake up. A line of palm trees ran along the side of the avenue.</p><p>She didn’t get to enjoy the view because morning meant less than 48 hours until the summer solstice. 48 hours until an all-out war broke out and possibly, the end of Olympus.</p><p>The Uber driver dropped them off right outside DOA Recording Studios. As they stood in front of the doors, Anne couldn’t help but think about Nate. She wondered why he was willing to upgrade her sword if he had planned to betray them this whole time and stop them from making it here. In fact, the whole Nate thing confused and frustrated her to no end- nothing added up. But she would have to deal with it later. After all, the entrance to the Underworld was right in front her.</p><p>“I guess this is it,” Gilbert said as he stared at the doors to the recording studio.</p><p>“Here’s to hoping we return alive,” replied Anne.</p><p>“Please, don’t joke about that,” Diana said, the worry evident on her face.</p><p>Anne took a deep breath before pushing the glass doors open.</p><hr/><p>Honestly, none of them knew what to expect. They half-expected the entrance to the Underworld to look more, well, hell-ish. Instead of torches of fire and skulls, they were met with a completely normal lobby. There was jazz music playing over a speaker while a few sickly-looking people sat on black, leather furniture. They appeared to be waiting for something. The people stared at them as they walked towards a man standing at a podium next to the elevator.</p><p>The man’s eyes were glued to a book and didn’t even look up at when they were standing in front of him. He had a name tag on his suit that read: Charon.</p><p>Anne cleared her throat. “Um, excuse me?”</p><p>“Accident, suicide, murder, natural causes, or other?” Charon asked, uninterested.</p><p>“Uh?” She didn’t know what to say.</p><p>He sighed and looked up. “How did you die?”</p><p>“Oh, we… um…” Unsure, she glanced at Diana and Gilbert for help.</p><p>Gilbert jumped in. “Accidental, sir. It was a car accident.”</p><p>The girls quickly nodded their heads in agreement.</p><p>“Tragic,” Charon said indifferently before turning his attention back to his book.</p><p>“So, can we go to the Underworld?” Anne questioned.</p><p>“Sure. If you get in line.” He pointed to all the people on the leather furniture. The line seemed to go on forever.</p><p>“But we want to go now!” Anne said.</p><p>“If you get in line now, you should be in the Underworld in…" he checked his clipboard. "534 years.”</p><p>Anne sighed deeply, her frustration growing. Suddenly, the backpack Ares had given her felt much heavier and it gave her an idea.</p><p>“What if… we had something to offer?” Anne begun innocently. She pulled a golden drachma from the backpack and placed it on top of Charon’s book.</p><p>This got his attention. “Perhaps I could bump you up a few spots then.”</p><p>She put a few more in front of him. “There’s more where this comes from… if you bump us up to the number one spot.”</p><p>“I would if I could. Unfortunately, many of these poor souls have been waiting for over a thousand years-”</p><p>Anne took the backpack and poured the rest of the contents out onto the podium. Golden drachmas overflowed and clattered onto the ground. Charon’s eyes were so wide Anne could practically see cartoon money signs in them.</p><p>“But I’m sure they can wait a little longer,” Charon finished, pressing the button to the elevator without hesitation. “Come right this way, then.”</p><p>Anne felt a little bad for the people who had been waiting for so long but figured that if they didn’t stop this war, there’d be no Underworld for them to go to.</p><p>Diana discreetly fist bumped Anne as Charon led them into the elevator that would bring them down to the Underworld. He slid a keycard into the slot and pressed a button.</p><p>When the elevator dinged, Anne blinked and suddenly, they weren’t in the elevator anymore. They were in a rickety wooden barge, sailing over a dark, oily river. Charon looked bored as he steered them through the murky water, filled with bones, lost items, and crushed dreams.</p><p>“The River Styx,” Gilbert said, his voice barely above a whisper.</p><p>Anne felt chills run up and down her body. It wasn’t how she imagined it would be- it was worse. It didn’t look like those cartoonish depictions of the Underworld, rather it was the dread and fear that pervaded her body just by being down here that made her realize how awful the Underworld really was- how it sucked the life out of someone. The Underworld was not meant for the living.</p><p>Diana must’ve felt the same way Anne did because she grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.</p><p>When they reached the shoreline, Charon ushered them off the boat quickly.</p><p>“Get off now,” he muttered, “I got to return to my post before all those souls mess with my stuff.”</p><p>There was a loud howl- similar to the howl of a hellhound that attacked Anne. Warily, the three stepped onto the black sand.</p><p>“I’d wish you the best but we all know how this is gonna play out,” Charon said with a creepy smile. He nodded at them before sailing away and fading into the mist.</p><p>With a gulp, Anne led her friends up a worn out path. The path took them towards a gate guarded by the owner of the howl they had heard.</p><p>Instead of a hellhound, it was a dog at least three times the size of a hellhound. Anne thought it looked a bit like a Rottweiler. Except more vicious. Not to mention the three heads.</p><p>“That’s Cerberus, isn’t it?” Anne asked in a hushed voice.</p><p>Gilbert nodded. “Yup. Hades’ three-headed 'lap dog’ that guards the gates to the Underworld. That’s him.”</p><p>They watched as the ghosts seemed to just pass through Cerberus with ease. The giant dog lifted his nose up, sniffing at the air. He could sense them. And he didn’t seem too happy about it.</p><p>“How do we get passed him? We’re obviously not dead,” Anne said.</p><p>Diana stepped forward. “Stay here and wait for my signal.”</p><p>“Diana, what are you doing?” Anne said. She tried to grab Diana but she was already making her way to the guard dog.</p><p>Anne looked at Gilbert desperately, his expression matching her’s. They watched in horror as Diana stood face to face with Cerberus, getting their weapons ready in case Diana’s plan backfired.</p><p>Cerberus snarled at Diana when he saw her but was immediately confused when she didn’t recoil in fear.</p><p>“Good boy,” Diana said in a calm voice. “You’re lonely out here, aren’t you?”</p><p>Cerberus tilted all three of his heads.</p><p>“Well, I’m gonna keep you company. You don’t mind if I play you something?”</p><p>She reached into her bag and pulled something out of her bag. When she pressed a button, it unfolded into an instrument that looked like a mini harp.</p><p>“It’s like Orpheus… she’s a genius!” Gilbert whispered.</p><p>Anne realized the instrument was a lyre- the same instrument Orpheus used to charm Cerberus when he ventured to the Underworld thousands of years ago.</p><p>Just as Cerberus begun to grow impatient and looked ready to pounce on Diana again, a beautiful tune started to play. The music came from the lyre in Diana’s hands as she fingered the strings and hummed along with it. Everyone, even the ghosts, seemed to listen to it in a trance.</p><p>In an instant, Cerberus seemed calmer, almost enchanted by the music, and cowered to the ground. He suddenly reminded Anne of a little puppy- wide-eyed and naive- instead of the ferocious beast that he was.</p><p>Without stopping, Diana motioned for Anne and Gilbert to go through the gate. They happily obliged and crept passed Cerberus who was too mesmerized by the music to notice.</p><p>Once they were through the gate, Diana ended the song- much to Cerberus’s disappointment.</p><p>“I have to go, buddy,” Diana told him, “but maybe I’ll see you again one day.”</p><p>He bowed his heads down, letting her pat him on the head as she walked passed him to join her friends. With one last glance at Cerberus, she closed the gate behind her, leaving him alone once again. Her heart twinged with pain when she heard him let out a sad howl that echoed so loudly through the Underworld that the living probably heard it.</p><p>“Diana, that was brilliant!” Anne exclaimed.</p><p>Although Diana looked pleased with herself, there was a sadness in her eyes as she folded the lyre up and put it back in her bag.</p><hr/><p>As they made their way towards Hades’ palace, they saw all the sights the Underworld had to offer: the Fields of Punishment, the Fields of Asphodel, Elysium, the Isles of the Blest, and finally, Tartarus.</p><p>While they didn’t necessarily <em>see </em>Tartarus, they saw the entrance. It was a black tunnel that led to the darkest and deepest part of hell. Anne could literally feel the life getting sucked out of her just by looking at it. Diana and Gilbert could sense the feeling of evil seeping out of the tunnel and walked by it as fast as they could. But something made Anne freeze.</p><p>There was a voice. It seemed to be chanting something in Ancient Greek, barely audible, but Anne heard it. Whoever it was, or <em>whatever</em> it was, did not seem too friendly. She locked eyes with Gilbert who grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along.</p><p>When they finally reached the Palace of Hades’, Anne didn’t feel as great as she expected to feel about reaching their destination. Up in the dark sky, the Furies were flying and circling the tower. Her stomach lurched at the thought of Mr. Hammond being one of them.</p><p>Gilbert led them into the courtyard where a garden with strange statues and odd-looking fruits and trees was waiting for them. There was an intense tart smell that made Anne want to take a bite from one of the fruits.</p><p>Gilbert hurried them through. “The garden of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food and you’ll never be allowed to leave.”</p><p>The thought of that terrified Anne so she held her noise to resist the smell and kept moving.</p><p>They climbed up the large steps and pushed through the even larger doors, stumbling into the palace.</p><p>Now the palace of the god of the Underworld was exactly how Anne imagined it to be. Black columns, torches of fire, and skeleton warriors standing guard. The flaming torches made Anne think of her dream- maybe the flaming torch meant Hades. Maybe it meant he really did have the trident.</p><p>There was a gust of wind that caused the doors at the end of the hallway to fly open, beckoning the demigods to come forward. They cautiously made their way towards the throne room, bracing themselves for what they were about to walk into.</p><p>By now, Anne had met two gods in their human forms but nothing could prepare her for seeing Hades. He was truly a God. With his intense eyes and evil aura, he commanded the room. Even the way he sat on his throne with such fiery passion. Oh, and he was 10 feet tall.</p><p>“Anne Shirley... right on time,” Hades greeted her coldly.</p><p>She bowed her head, resisting the urge to fall to her knees and beg him for forgiveness. His aura was affecting her, just like Ares and Aphrodite’s had. “Lord Hades,” she said through gritted teeth.</p><p>He eyed her with disdain. “You are brave to come here, thief.”</p><p>“Uncle, I have come here with a request,” Anne said, her voice trembling.</p><p>“A request?” Hades bellowed. “You dare show yourself in my realm and come to ask me for a request? After what you’ve done?”</p><p>Anne was confused by his words. “Please, um, sir. If you don’t return the trident to Poseidon, Olympus could fall. Is that what you really want? A war?”</p><p>“How dare you- a daughter of <em>Zeus. </em>After what you have done, I will see to make your life a living hell just as I’ve done before,” Hades said.</p><p>“You sent all those monsters after me?” Anne asked, dumbfounded.</p><p>“All of them? No, only the Furies, of course,” Hades replied, as if it was obvious. “You think I want a war? A war would cripple my kingdom. And do you know whose it would strengthen? <em>Zeus’s</em>!” Hades rose from his throne. “Your father broke the Oath and tried to hide you from the world so that you could do his bidding for him. <em>You</em> stole Poseidon’s Trident and <em>my</em> helm to start this war. And if it hadn’t been for my Fury who discovered you, he might’ve gotten away with it!”</p><p>Anne was too shocked to speak.</p><p>“Lord Hades,” Gilbert interjected, clearing his throat. “Your Helm of Darkness was stolen too?”</p><p>Hades laughed, fiery anger in his eyes. “Don’t play innocent with me, boy. I know you’re in on his plan too, son of<em> Athena</em>. I know the reason you came here. To coax me into joining Zeus’s side.”</p><p>Gilbert blinked. “What are you-”</p><p>“Return me my helm or <em>die</em>,” roared Hades, redirecting his anger towards Anne again.</p><p>Anne couldn’t believe how terribly this was going.“You’ve got it all wrong! I didn’t steal anything, I only came here to retrieve what was stolen.”</p><p>“Stop the lies, child! If you are so innocent, open your bag,” Hades demanded.</p><p>For some reason, Anne could feel a horrible sinking feeling wash over her when those words left his mouth. Wordlessly, she unzipped the bag, her hands shaking as she fumbled with the zipper.</p><p>Something fell out and landed on the ground with a clang.</p><p>It was a three-tipped spear, 6 feet long and golden under the dim light of Hades’ palace. The trident of Poseidon was inside the backpack all along. Anne couldn’t believe her eyes.</p><p>Diana was the first to break the silence. “Anne, how-”</p><p>“I-I don’t know,” she stuttered, staring at the golden trident.</p><p>“Predictable. You demigods are full of deception and lies,” Hades said. “Hubris and pride too. I don’t know what game Zeus is playing at, having you bring a weapon of this sorts to me, but either way, you will yield the trident to me. It will make an excellent bargaining tool. And my helm. Hand them over.”</p><p>Anne was frozen. She didn’t have his helm. Hell, she didn’t even knew she had the trident until a few seconds ago. Hades must be pulling some sort of trick on her. After all, there was only golden drachmas in it when she first received the bag from… Wait a minute…</p><p>“Uncle, wait!” Anne exclaimed. “There’s been a misunderstanding.”</p><p>Hades cackled. “A misunderstanding?”</p><p>“Yes! You don’t understand. You’re being played with, all three of you. Ares-”</p><p>“I don’t care what you have to say!” roared Hades. With a wave of his hand, the skeleton warriors drew their weapons and pointed them towards the demigods. At the same time, the Furies landed and stood next to their master, barring their teeth at Anne.</p><p>Suddenly, a portal appeared in front of her and opened to reveal a shimmering image of a woman with red hair, standing alone in the fields of Asphodel. The woman gazed at the gloomy grey sky, a look of exhausted sadness on her face. She was beautiful.</p><p>Anne didn’t even need to ask who it was. It was the woman from Mormo’s mist- it was her mother. And she looked just like Anne.</p><p>For a moment, Anne wanted to abandon the quest entirely and run through the portal to get to her mother. She wanted to hug her mother and hear the words she had yearned to hear her entire life: “I love you, Anne.” Throughout the years of endless abuse and suffering, it was the thought of her mother that kept her going, the iridescent beauty and grace and the never-ending kindness she always imagined her mother to have. She had wondered if she’d ever find any trace of her mother- a photograph, a letter, a belonging of her’s, just <em>something</em>… and now here she was, her mother. Standing right in front of her.</p><p>“I know what you truly want,” Hades sneered. “Hand over the trident <em>and </em>my helm and perhaps we can make a deal. Or else you can face the wrath of my warriors.”</p><p>“My mother is <em>dead</em>,” Anne said, fighting back tears. She tried to ignore the image in front of her.</p><p>“And I’m the<em> Lord</em> of the dead, remember?” Hades scoffed. “She can be resurrected.”</p><p>Anne shook her head. As much as she wanted to be reunited with her mother, she knew what was happening. She knew she was just a pawn in some sick twisted game.</p><p>Ares had tricked her because he wanted a war- unsurprisingly as he was the war god after all. He stole the trident, placed the blame on Anne, and let her bring it to the Underworld, right into the hands of Hades. If Anne handed over the trident to Hades, there was no doubt in her mind that it would be the tipping point and the war would begin.</p><p>Her prospects looked grim. In order for her and her friends to escape the Underworld with the trident, she was going to have to fight the Lord of the Dead and his entire undead army.</p><p>She turned to look at Gilbert and Diana as Hades impatiently waited on her decision.</p><p>Beside her, Gilbert had been contemplating something when Hades brought up the image of Anne's mother. Anne was too shocked by Hades' proposal to notice. He had pulled the two pearls out of his pocket, finally understanding what Aphrodite meant about the sacrifices he would have to make. While he wanted to curse the goddess for putting him in this position, he also knew it was what had to happen.</p><p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Meanwhile, the light reflected off of the two pearls in Gilbert's hands and brought the attention of Diana, who also suddenly made a plan.</span>
</p><p>“Anne,” Gilbert said quietly, “this is your chance. To finally meet your mother.”</p><p>“<em>What?</em> Gilbert, what are you talking about? You know I can’t give him the trident! And I don’t even have the helm!” Anne whispered back frantically.</p><p>“No. You must take your mother and the trident and leave. It’s your destiny,” Gilbert urged.</p><p>Anne stared at Gilbert like he was an idiot. “The only way out is to fight, Gilbert. How can you even-”</p><p>He opened her hand and placed the two shiny pearls into it. “Tell Hades you’ll give him the trident. Let him resurrect your mother. Then escape using these.”</p><p>“Gilbert, are you dumb? I’m not leaving you and Diana behind!” Anne exclaimed.</p><p>“Gilbert’s right,” Diana spoke up suddenly. She was holding something in her hand. “You have to leave us behind. Save your mother, Anne. Return the trident to Poseidon. We’ll figure something out.”</p><p>“Are you kidding? I’m not leaving you guys! Hades will <em>kill </em>you!” Anne refused, her eyes welling up with frustrated tears.</p><p>And then, something awful happened. Anne’s worst fear came true.</p><p>From Diana’s hand fell an apple that was picked from the garden of Persephone. It landed on the ground with a clunk, a bite taken out of it. Anne stared at Diana in horror.</p><p>“Diana, what did you <em>do</em>?” Anne cried out in disbelief.</p><p>Diana's breath was shaky. “I made the decision for you.”</p><p>Hades sat back down in his seat, pleased. He clapped his hands together. “Why it looks like I’ve found a permanent friend for Persephone! She gets so lonely down here. I’m sure a daughter of Apollo would entertain her enough.”</p><p>Diana looked at Anne with a sad smile on her face before turning to face Hades. “Resurrect her mother and she’ll give you the trident,” Diana said firmly.</p><p>“I wouldn’t normally listen to my prisoners, but I would urge you to listen to your friend, Anne Shirley,” Hades said.</p><p>Anne was distraught, her face red with streaks of tears. She met Gilbert’s eyes. He looked ready to stay in the Underworld as well.</p><p>By resurrecting her mother, she would risk losing Gilbert and she couldn’t lose another…friend, not after just witnessing Diana sentencing herself to an eternity in the Underworld. She couldn’t lose them both.</p><p>Diana took Anne’s hand in her’s and gave it one last firm squeeze. “Whatever you choose to do, you have my full support, Anne,” Diana assured her, seeming to understand why Anne was hesitating. She looked between Anne and Gilbert. “Whatever you do and wherever your life takes you, I will always be here for you, even if I’m not physically with you.”</p><p>Anne couldn’t understand how Diana could be so brave right now.</p><p>“You are the best friend I’ve ever had and I’m so blessed to know you- I’m so blessed to see you become a true hero. You deserve happiness over everything," continued Diana.</p><p>The tears wouldn’t stop flowing as Anne adamantly shook her head.</p><p>“I love you, Anne,” Diana finished.</p><p>Anne wanted to scream, wanted to hug her best friend and never let her go, but the look on Hades face meant her time was up. Holding the two pearls in her hand, she let go of Diana's hand and grabbed Gilbert's.</p><p>Hades stood up abruptly, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. “Don’t you dare-”</p><p>With one last glance at her mother and Diana, Anne smashed the pearls onto the ground. And for the most painful second of her life, nothing happened.</p><p>“Destroy them!” commanded Hades.</p><p>The army of skeleton soldiers charged Anne and Gilbert with their swords and spears. At the same time, the Furies dived towards them as well, their talons open wide.</p><p>But then, a burst of green light and a gust of sea wind rose from Anne and Gilbert’s feet and rose up their bodies, encasing them in a milky white spear.</p><p>As their surroundings began to disappear, Anne shouted through her tears, “I’ll find a way to save you, Diana. I promise!”</p><p>The last thing she saw before floating up off the ground was a single tear rolling down Diana’s cheek.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm so sorry for the lack of updates!!!! I've had a terrible case of writer's block and there's been so much going on in my life recently.</p><p>I know this chapter was A LOT but I hope you enjoyed it regardless! thank you for reading :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. the summer solstice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the magical pearls carried them up from the Underworld, Anne held onto Gilbert’s hand like her life depended on it. To be fair, after all they’d been through, it kind of felt like it did.</p><p>“We’ll get her back,” Gilbert promised with a squeeze of her hand.</p><p>Anne nodded and tried to put on a brave face, but her puffy eyes said otherwise. She couldn’t believe Diana was a prisoner in the Underworld and even worse- she didn’t even know if they’d ever be able to get her back.</p><p>But she couldn’t think about that right now. The trident was finally in her possession and she needed to return it to Poseidon before the Summer Solstice begun.</p><p>Anne hoped the pearls would take them to their intended destination- the Empire State Building in New York City- but that hope came crashing down. Literally.</p><p>The white bubble around them popped, resulting in a painful crash landing and a mouth full of rust-orange dirt. Coughing, Anne sat up and brushed the dirt off of her before realizing where they were. To her horror, they were back in the desert. And they had less than 12 hours to get to New York.</p><hr/><p>“What are we gonna do, Gilbert?” Anne cried out in anguish. “We have no way of transportation, no way out of here, and no way to return the trident before time runs out!” She put her head in her hands and groaned, the reality of their situation dawning on her.</p><p>Gilbert was quiet as he sat propped up against a rock. For once, the son of Athena didn’t have the answer.</p><p>“I thought the pearls were supposed to take us where we needed to go. Which is the Empire State Building,” Anne continued. “Clearly, this isn’t the Empire State Building!” She was pacing now as the desert sun beat down on her. “The war is gonna start and we’re just gonna be stuck here- in the middle of the desert!”</p><p>“Anne, calm down,” Gilbert said finally. He paused for a moment. “What if the pearls <em>did</em> bring us where we needed to be?”</p><p>“You think we’re <em>meant</em> to be lost in the middle of the desert again?” Anne deadpanned, scowling at him.</p><p>“Well, aren’t the pearls normally supposed to bring people who use them to a body of water? It would make sense if the pearls brought us to the Hudson River, or the Atlantic, or even the Pacific, right?” He was thinking hard now.</p><p>“…I guess so, yeah,” she replied.</p><p>“So why would they bring us to a desert?” Gilbert asked.</p><p>“To mess with us. As if we haven’t been punished enough,” Anne muttered, wallowing in her misery.</p><p>“There has to be a reason,” he pressed.</p><p>But before Gilbert could think any harder, a familiar red Maserati came to a speeding halt in front of them, a cloud of dust in its tracks. There was a sticker on the window that Anne hadn’t noticed before. It was a flaming torch.</p><p>And in that moment, everything became clear to Anne now. Her dream, the Oracle’s prophecy- it all made sense.</p><p>The Oracle’s voice echoed in her mind.<em>“You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.” </em>How had she not seen it before? This whole time, the answer was right in front of her. When they were down in the Underworld, she had figured out that Ares played a trick on them but she didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation. <em>He</em> was the flaming torch in her dream.</p><p>Ares stepped out of the car with the most obnoxious smirk on his face.</p><p>“So I see you received my<em> real</em> present,” Ares said. He eyed the trident sticking out of the backpack.</p><p>Instinctively, Anne stepped forward and put a protective arm in front of Gilbert. “You brainwashed Nate into helping you, didn’t you? You stole the trident and Hades’ helm of darkness to bring upon the end of Olympus,” she said through gritted teeth.</p><p>Ares chuckled. “Who am I to tell you that you’re wrong? Demigods like you will think whatever they want.”</p><p>“You’re <em>sick</em>. And when Zeus hears about how you were behind all of this, he’ll certainly have his way with you,” Anne spat.</p><p>“How will he be able to do that when he’s too busy fighting a war with his brothers?” countered the war god.</p><p>“There won’t be a war. We’re returning the trident,” Gilbert declared.</p><p>Ares almost burst into laughter at this. “While your efforts are admirable, you’ll have to go through me. And unfortunately, your odds of beating me are not that great.”</p><p>Having heard enough, Anne unsheathed Avonlea, a glint of determination in her eye.</p><p>“Gilbert, you protect the trident,” she told him over her shoulder, “This is my fight.” She turned her attention back to the god who grinned in response.</p><p>Gilbert tried to argue with her but it was too late.</p><p>Ares’ sword materialized in his hands as Anne charged him with intense fury.</p><p>As the duel ensued, Anne’s body seemed to do the fighting for her. Fighting a god was different than fighting a monster. She didn’t have time to think or plan out her moves, she just had to go off her instincts and fight.</p><p>Ares swung at her and their swords crashed against each other, the sun reflecting off of the metal. Despite Ares being the god of war, the pair seemed to be evenly matched. Something was off- it was too easy.</p><p>“What are you planning?” Anne demanded through jabs.</p><p>“What are you talking about?” Ares replied in a mocking tone.</p><p>“You’re holding back… why?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.</p><p>Ares scoffed, “Am not, cousin. I never hold back in a fight.”</p><p>He swung at her but she easily sidestepped him.</p><p>Gilbert was watching the fight from a safe distance, feeling anxious as ever. Every time their swords clashed, his whole body tensed up. But like Anne, he also felt like something was off about this fight. All of a sudden, a haunting thought occurred to him.</p><p>“Anne!” Gilbert shouted. “What if he didn’t come up with this plan? What if he’s just a pawn?”</p><p>Hearing this, Anne felt all of the hair on her body stand up. Immediately, she was reminded of that evil feeling and the voice she had heard when the walked by the entrance to Tartarus.</p><p>She stepped back, keeping her sword drawn and her gaze steady. “Gilbert’s right. This wasn’t your plan, was it?”</p><p>Ares laughed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“No, I think I do,” Anne said. “You’re being manipulated. And you might not even realize it.”</p><p>His eyes turned dark at this. “How dare you say that someone would manipulate <em>me</em>? A <em>god!</em>”</p><p>“Maybe you’ve heard a voice at night, a lulling voice whose words seem to replay in your mind throughout the day. Or maybe you’ve felt it. You’ve felt something calling to you, something evil pulling you,” Anne continued.</p><p>Ares shook his head vehemently. “I can’t be manipulated. I’m the <em>god of war!</em>” But something was telling Anne he didn’t even believe the words that left his mouth.</p><p>“Then prove it,” Anne challenged, her anger flaring suddenly.</p><p>Boy was Ares angry now. He charged her with a different energy than before- this time he was bloodthirsty.</p><p>Their swords met with a loud clang. Anne was barely managing to fight off his advances now. The fire had returned to his eyes.</p><p>She tried to trick him and hit him with the butt of her sword, but he had calculated her move. He kicked her easily and sent her flying over 20 feet in the air.</p><p>Anne managed to slow her plummet to the ground by willing the winds around her to keep her in the air but she was too disoriented to do it properly. She landed on the ground with a crash and weakly got back on her feet. Before she could regain her strength, the god was charging her again.</p><p>Bruised and battered, Anne feared she might not win this battle. She grasped Avonlea firmly in her hands and stood her ground as Ares hurtled towards her with all of his might.</p><p>Suddenly, she remembered that Nate had altered her sword for her. There was a good chance he might’ve tampered with it and did’t do what she asked of him, but Anne couldn’t take that risk. Either Ares kills her or she at least tries to put up a fight. If the sword ends up killing her, at least she can say that she tried.</p><p>Closing her eyes, she thought about everything the gods had put her through. Putting her in this position, using her as a pawn, losing Diana, losing her mother all over <em>again… </em>she felt a pit of anger burning in her stomach. She took a deep breath and called out to the sky.</p><p>Ares was close now. She needed to try.</p><p>It was as if everything was in slow motion. The clouds turned grey as thunder rumbled in the distance. She aimed her sword at him, finally releasing the burning energy from her body. A flash of red lightning ripped through the air and struck Anne’s sword. She directed the bolt towards Ares and watched in both horror and relief as the god was electrocuted.</p><p>He screamed out in pain- his body jerking due to the shock- and collapsed to the ground.</p><p>Feeling dizzy, Anne almost collapsed as well. Of course, Gilbert was at her side in an instance and caught her just in time. Together, they walked towards Ares who was too astonished to continue fighting. Anne kept her sword drawn just in case.</p><p>There was already a scar on Ares’ arm where Anne’s lightning bolt had hit him.</p><p>“You may have won this time, demigod, but you have also made an enemy,” grumbled Ares, “Every time you raise your sword in battle, you will feel my curse.”</p><p>His body began to glow.</p><p>Quickly, Gilbert shielded both his and Anne’s eyes as Ares revealed his true form to them.</p><p>When the light died, Ares was gone and the helm of darkness was left in his place. Anne weakly picked it up.</p><p>“Did you know your lightning was red?” Gilbert asked her, in awe.</p><p>Anne shook her head. She was still in disbelief that she managed to beat Ares. “I didn’t even think that I would be able to do that.”</p><p>“Remind me to never cross you again. You’re scary when you’re mad,” Gilbert said. Although his tone was joking, he was fully serious.</p><p>For the first time that day, Anne allowed herself to smile. “Let’s go to Olympus.”</p><p>“I’m all for this positivity, but how? We’re still stuck in the middle of the desert,” Gilbert reminded her.</p><p>“Yes but I think Ares forgot something,” replied Anne, gesturing to something.</p><p>Gilbert turned to see Ares’ red Maserati parked next to a cactus.</p><p>“So do you wanna drive?” Anne asked him.</p><hr/><p>Gilbert drove them to the nearest airport- the Reno International Airport in Nevada.</p><p>Anne decided that since they’re technically almost done with the quest, it would be safe for her to fly now. Hopefully the gods would look passed this. Plus, they really didn’t have time to think of any other ways of transportation. The solstice was in seven hours.</p><p>For some reason, there were no questions about them trying to get a 6-foot trident and a magical helmet through security. Anne just assumed the mist had their backs.</p><p>The actual plane ride was not as bad as Anne imagined it would be. She was worried some angry storm spirit or even Ares would appear and throw them out the window, but for once, they were lucky and nothing of the sorts happened.</p><p>They landed safely in New York with an hour until the solstice to spare.</p><p>“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Anne asked Gilbert.</p><p>He nodded firmly. “Anne, this is your quest. It’s your destiny. You need to do it alone.”</p><p>There wasn’t time for her to press him any harder. Something was telling her that Gilbert didn’t want to meet his mother yet.</p><p>“I’ll go to camp and tell Miss. Stacy and Bash about what’s happened,” said Gilbert.</p><p>“Okay, I’ll… see you when I return,” Anne said hesitantly. What if the gods don’t believe her and banish her to Tartarus?</p><p>Gilbert squeezed her shoulder. “You got this.” He hailed a cab for her and opened the door.</p><p>To his shock, Anne grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight hug, whispering in his ear, “Just in case I don’t come back.”</p><p>Gilbert was caught off guard for a moment but eventually melted into her embrace. “I’ll see you soon,” he murmured before reluctantly pulling away.</p><p>With one last smile, Anne got into the cab and shut the door. As the cab drove towards the Empire State Building, she watched Gilbert get smaller and smaller until he was just a tiny dot in the distance. For the first time since the quest begun, she was fully alone.</p><hr/><p>The guard at the front desk of the Empire State Building seemed completely unfazed by Anne’s rattled appearance.</p><p>“Six hundredth floor,” Anne told him breathlessly.</p><p>“No such floor, sorry,” the guard replied, not even bothering to look up.</p><p>Anne glanced at the clock. 11:47pm. “I need an audience with the gods, right now,” she said urgently.</p><p>The guard just waved her off. “You need an appointment for that. The gods don’t like unannounced visitors, especially during the solstice.”</p><p>“Trust me, they’ll want to see me,” said Anne confidently. She showed the guard the trident and his pupils nearly tripled in size.</p><p>In a panic, the guard dug through the papers on his desk for a keycard and handed it to Anne. “Insert this into the security slot and it should take you to your desired floor,” the guard explained shakily.</p><p>The elevator shot up through the Empire State Building and when the doors opened, Anne’s jaw almost hit the ground. In front of her was a marble staircase that led to <em>Olympus.</em></p><p>It looked exactly like Anne had imagined. Huge white columns, gleaming mansions, clouds, gilded statues- a modern day Ancient Greek city. She walked through the city in a trance, passing by the nine muses and ignoring the stares of naiads and satyrs.</p><p>When she finally arrived at Zeus’s palace, the huge shiny doors seemed to be beckoning to her. She entered her father’s humble abode and followed the voices to the throne room where 12 thrones sat in a U-shape. While the gods appeared to be civil with one another, there was an air of tension in the room, like they had just been arguing about something.</p><p>Anne was intimidated to say the least. One, the gods were in their giant human form, standing nearly 10 feet tall. Two, they all turned to look at Anne when she entered the room. She could feel all of their gazes on her. And three, she was finally coming face to face with her father, Zeus.</p><p>Zeus looked how a Greek God would look with a chiseled jaw and white beard. His eyes were an extravagant blue, just like Anne’s.</p><p>Overwhelmed with emotion, Anne knelt at his throne and bowed her head. “Father.”</p><p>Beside him was his brother Poseidon, with his long black hair and sea-green eyes.</p><p>“Anne, my daughter,” Zeus greeted her.</p><p>Anne could not tell what her father was thinking as he kept his tone steady and indifferent.</p><p>“So you claim her then? You admit you went against our sacred oath?” Poseidon bellowed.</p><p>There was a flash of anger in Zeus’s eyes as thunder rolled in the sky. He took a deep breath. “Yes, I admit my wrongdoing.”</p><p>Anne’s heart fell at that. She knew she was a mistake but it still hurt to hear her own father admit it.</p><p>Zeus turned to the other gods and spoke, “Please leave us be. We shall reconvene tomorrow.”</p><p>All of the gods except for Poseidon quickly disappeared. Before they left, however, Anne caught a glimpse of Apollo, Diana’s father, and Athena, Gilbert’s mother. Athena stared right at Anne with her grey eyes. They were filled with wisdom, but all Anne could think about was how much they looked like Gilbert’s.</p><p>Zeus turned to Poseidon who seemed to be fuming with anger. “Brother please, at least hear her out. I believe she came here with a purpose.”</p><p>Swallowing nervously, Anne nodded and stepped forward. She detailed the events that happened during her quest, explaining that Ares had stolen the trident. The look on Poseidon’s face caused her to finally reveal the trident.</p><p>The god of the sea’s demeanor immediately changed when he saw his beloved weapon. He opened his palm and the trident flew right into it. When he closed his palm around it, Anne could practically see the energy surging through his body. The balance felt like it was restored.</p><p>Meanwhile, her father seemed to be thinking very hard. He stared at Anne with an unreadable expression on his face.</p><p>“I sense that the demigod is telling the truth,” Poseidon admitted slowly.</p><p>“Children of Zeus are children of honor,” Zeus stated almost proudly. “But while Ares has always loved chaos… I never imagined he’d go this far.”</p><p>“Well, he’s hotheaded, just like you,” Poseidon said pointedly at Zeus who rolled his eyes in response.</p><p>Anne cleared her throat and looked at her father. “Um… if I may.”</p><p>Zeus urged her on.</p><p>“I-I believe someone might’ve manipulated Ares. Something evil, from the pits of Tartarus. I’m not sure why I think this but my intuition is telling me that there’s something bigger at play here,” explained Anne. The energy in the room had shifted at the mention of Tartarus.</p><p>Zeus and Poseidon locked eyes. Anne could tell that they knew what she was talking about but figured pressing the two brothers any further would not end well for her.</p><p>Poseidon rose from his throne and looked at Anne. The anger that had swallowed up his facial features before had faded away. “I must return this to my throne at my palace. Thank you, young demigod, for retrieving my trident. I understand that the trials you faced on your quest were not easy. And while I do not approve of my brother breaking the oath, I will let it slide just this once.”</p><p>With a nod of approval at her, Poseidon disappeared, leaving Anne alone with her father.</p><p>“Anne, my child. You’ve done well,” Zeus said after a moment of silence. “You have restored honor to Olympus and have made me proud.”</p><p>Anne didn’t know what to say. Part of her wanted to scream at him for leaving her unclaimed for 16 years while the other part of her just wanted him to continue to praise her. She had never felt this many contradicting emotions at once.</p><p>“It-it was only my duty,” Anne said finally, trying to remain humble.</p><p>“Ah, of course.”</p><p>A beat.</p><p>“Father, um… what is in that pit? In Tartarus?” Anne asked. She needed to confirm her suspicions.</p><p>Zeus examined her face. “I think you know.”</p><p>“Kronos,” she guessed. “The king of the Titans.”</p><p>He didn’t nod but the look on his face confirmed it. Anne had read about it. After the First War, when the gods defeated the Titans, Zeus cut his father, Kronos, into a thousand pieces and banished him to Tartarus. Like the gods, Titans can’t die. And now, thousands of years later, Kronos must be slowly piecing himself back together, waiting to get his power back.</p><p>“Father, what happens now?”</p><p>“You return to camp and train, live your life as demigod. Do not worry about this matter. Until your destiny calls again,” said Zeus decidedly.</p><p>Anne had so many more questions but she knew there was no arguing with Zeus. “As you wish… father.”</p><p>She turned to walk away when she remembered something extremely important. “Wait, I almost forgot.” She took the helm of darkness out of her bag, “Ares also stole this from Hades and I’m not quite sure how to return it to him.”</p><p>Zeus took the helm from her. “I will see to it. I’m sure my brother will be glad to have it returned.”</p><p>“Also,” Anne began. She gulped, worried her father might see her as a greedy child. “My friend, Diana? The one who sacrificed herself for the quest, is there anyway…?”</p><p>The expression on Zeus’s face was a sad one. “The rules of the Underworld are very strict and Hades… well, you know he is hard to negotiate with.”</p><p>Seeing the crestfallen look on Anne’s face caused Zeus to sigh. “But I will try my best,” he finished.</p><p>Anne knew he wasn’t just talking about Diana. As prickly as gods can be, she could tell he felt some sort of remorse for the 16 years of torment she had faced.</p><p>“Anne, I must tell you. I’m… sorry. Your mother- she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met. I truly loved her and when she died…” Zeus winced, as if the memory was still fresh, “I hadn’t felt anger and heartbreak like that in over a thousand years. Anne, because of me, you have been cursed with a hero’s fate. As proud of you as I am, I am also sorry that you were born. You will face more tragedy than most.”</p><p>She was at a loss for words. While it stung to hear her own father basically say she should never have been born, she also felt at peace knowing how much he loved her mother. Instead of saying anything else, she just nodded and turned to leave.</p><p>“Please, my daughter. Do not forget- I am proud of you,” Zeus spoke one last time.</p><p>A single tear rolled down her cheek. She walked out of the throne room and towards the big, shiny doors where the gleaming city of the gods was waiting for her. As she descended from Olympus, all the people and creatures knelt and bowed to her with gratitude. Anne was a hero.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so... this chapter was a long time coming hehe I'm sorry I think its been over a month and a half since I updated. I'm literally the worst.</p><p>but thank you for reading this! there's still two more chapters left of this story, I hope you are enjoying so far!!!!</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. a hero's welcome</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As she made the trip back to camp, Anne was unsure how to feel.</p><p>Sure, she had successfully made it back in one piece, but she just didn’t feel like the quest was truly <em>over</em>. Maybe it was the fact that Diana was still lost in the Underworld or that Kronos was on the rise; either way, Anne could not shake this apprehensive feeling as she entered the gates of Camp Half-blood.</p><p>Camp, on the other hand, was celebrating.</p><p>Word must’ve spread from Olympus that Anne had successfully returned the trident, cleared her name, and stopped the war. And the atmosphere inside Camp Half-blood was a clear indicator of this.</p><p>The moment Anne arrived, the other campers were in a frenzy, crowding around her and congratulating her. It was the first time a quest had been completed since Nate and Roy’s quest four years ago so the excitement was absolutely magnified. They placed a huge laurel wreath around her neck- a camp tradition as she was told. At some point, the campers had also rallied around Gilbert who had arrived at camp a few hours earlier, placing a wreath around his neck as well. The campers led Anne to the mess hall where a huge feast was waiting for her.</p><p>The feast itself was one fit for a king- or a god even.</p><p>Dishes that Anne had never seen before lined the tables and decorations made by the Aphrodite and Demeter cabins were strung throughout the hall. Each cabin sat at their respective cabin’s table and since Anne was the only child of Zeus, it meant she was alone.</p><p>She couldn’t deny it. For the first time in her life, everyone was celebrating <em>her </em>accomplishments but it just didn’t feel like a celebration. Not when she knew that the real threat, Kronos, was rising.</p><p>Satyrs played festive music on their pipes while nymphs and naiads sang and danced around a huge bonfire that had been erected. Even members of the Apollo cabin were singing along.</p><p>But to Anne, it just didn’t feel right. Diana wasn’t here and she deserved to be celebrated just as much as Anne and Gilbert did.</p><p>As she ate, she could feel Gilbert’s eyes on her from across the room. He sat surrounded by his cabin mates who were laughing and having a good time, but all Gilbert could think about was Anne. He could tell she wasn’t in the festive mood and it worried him.</p><p>Both Anne and Gilbert’s thoughts were interrupted when Bash tapped a spoon against his glass, immediately earning the attention of all the campers.</p><p>“To our heroes of the night- Anne, Gilbert, and… Diana,” his loud voice faltered at the mention of Diana.</p><p>Anne watched as Bash glanced at Miss. Stacy. He seemed unsure about something. Instead, Miss. Stacy stepped forward and raised her glass.</p><p>“While we wish Diana was here with us, it only seems fitting that we celebrate their successful quest with this great feast!” Miss. Stacy finished for him.</p><p>The rest of the camp cheered and applauded Anne and Gilbert. Anne could feel her face heat up from all the attention.</p><hr/><p>Due to the chaos and excitement of the night, Anne was struggling to speak with Gilbert. She had so many questions. Did he tell Bash and Miss. Stacy everything that happened? Did the other campers even know that Diana was still in the Underworld? Not to mention the fact that she needed to tell him what happened on Olympus and what she had learned about Kronos. However, the other members of the Athena cabin seemed to be keeping him preoccupied, clapping him on the back and proudly calling him their head counselor.</p><p>With a sigh, Anne made the decision to worry about all of that later. She decided that what they did manage to accomplish on the quest was a small victory and she deserved to have one night of fun. It’s what Diana would have wanted.</p><p>As the night went on, Anne talked and laughed with other campers around the bonfire- campers who she’d never met or spoken to before her quest. When she had first arrived at camp, a little over three weeks ago, they thought of her as a danger to their world but now, they regarded her as a hero. She wondered if they would be treating her this way if she hadn’t succeeded. She wondered if she was even <em>worthy</em> of this praise.</p><p>Billy and the children of Ares couldn’t look her in the eye. They must’ve heard about her little duel with their father and were angry, or even possibly ashamed. Meanwhile, Josie, Ruby, and the other Aphrodite girls seemed to be warming up to Anne now. When they walked by her, they waved to her, even Josie managed a small nod- much to Anne’s surprise.</p><p>It was Ruby who was brave enough to break away from the group of girls and sit at the bonfire beside Anne.</p><p>“Hey Anne,” Ruby greeted her politely, a small smile on her face.</p><p>“Hey Ruby,” Anne said, blinking in surprise.</p><p>“Listen, I-I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted when you first got here,” Ruby began.</p><p>Anne stopped her. “No, Ruby, it’s okay. You really don’t have to-”</p><p>Ruby shook her head, adamant about her apology. “But I do! I was so immature and obnoxious… like a little girl. I don’t know, I tend to get like that after the Harvest but that doesn’t make it okay. And I made so many assumptions about you without even getting to know you. I’m really sorry.” The tone of her voice pulled at Anne’s heart strings.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Anne replied earnestly. “I promise, it’s okay.”</p><p>“You’re truly a hero, Anne. And I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” Ruby said, looking down ashamed. She got up quickly and hurried back to her friends before Anne could respond.</p><p>Anne didn’t have time to fully process what just happened because she was suddenly entangled in somebody’s arms.</p><p>“ANNE!” The boy shrieked, practically tackling her in a hug.</p><p>“Jerry, please. You’re gonna squeeze me to death,” Anne laughed.</p><p>“I missed you so much,” cried Jerry.</p><p>He released her from his embrace and plopped down beside her.</p><p>“I missed you too,” she told him. “Your horns have grown so much!”</p><p>Jerry flushed. “I’m glad you noticed. It means I’m getting closer to getting my searcher’s license!”</p><p>“Aw Jerry, I’m happy for you! Even though I don’t know what a searcher’s license is,” admitted Anne.</p><p>“It’s a license to search for the nature god Pan,” he explained. “Every satyr dreams of getting the opportunity to look for him, but no one’s ever succeeded."</p><p>“Why is that?” Anne asked, curiously.</p><p>In an instant, Jerry’s expression darkened. “I’m not sure… No one is actually. We just have to keep searching, we can’t give up- no matter what happens. Kind of like you.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Well, I always knew you were gonna do great things and despite everything that has been thrown at you in the last few weeks, you didn’t give up and kept moving forward. I should be more like you,” replied Jerry.</p><p>“You’ll find your own way, I know you will,” Anne chuckled. “I just can’t believe how much has changed in less than a month. I mean, just a few weeks ago, we were finishing our sophomore year of high school. And now, I’m the daughter of Zeus who went to the Underworld, fought Ares, and returned Poseidon’s trident.”</p><p>“Well when you put it like that… it sounds unbelievable,” Jerry said.</p><p>For a moment, the two old friends didn’t have anything to say, the sound of campers laughing in the distance and the popping of the fire filling the silence.</p><p>Jerry was the one who broke it. “Anne, tomorrow… Miss. Stacy wants to talk to you about the details of your quest. Particularly about what happened when you were on Olympus and…” he trailed off.</p><p>“And Diana,” Anne finished for him, not taking her eyes off the fire.</p><p>Jerry nodded weakly. “Gilbert told us what happened in the Underworld.”</p><p>“Do the others campers know?” Anna asked sullenly.</p><p>He shook his head. “Bash and Miss. Stacy decided it would be better to tell everyone once they can figure out whether Diana’s… situation is permanent or not. So right now, everyone just thinks that Diana decided to visit home for a few weeks.”</p><p>Hearing this made Anne feel sick to her stomach. Everyone here, even Diana’s own siblings, thought that Diana was just visiting her family when in reality, she was a prisoner in the Underworld.</p><p>Jerry could tell Anne was upset and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “She won’t be down there forever. We’ll figure something out.”</p><p>The sound of footsteps and the cracking of twigs caused Anne to look behind her. It was Gilbert.</p><p>“Hey Jerry, it’s good to see you,” greeted Gilbert. “Do you mind if I talk to Anne alone for a moment?”</p><p>“Oh no, not at all!” Jerry said, looking between the two of them. “I’m actually really tired so I’m gonna go hit the hay. Don’t stay up too late.” He tried to send a subtle wink Anne's way but failed miserably.</p><p>Jerry disappeared before Anne had time to protest. As much as she had wanted to talk to Gilbert earlier, she was really dreading being alone with him now. After all, so much had happened on their quest- she didn’t even know where to begin. And there were definitely a few things she <em>didn’t</em> want to talk about with him.</p><p>Gilbert sat down on the log beside her, the side of his leg grazing against her’s. The orange glow of the fire lit up his face and the slight breeze blew his hair back to slightly reveal his forehead. For the first time since Nate’s house, Anne felt like she was seeing him in a different light. They had spent the last two weeks practically running for their lives and now here they were sitting in front of a fire, alone and sort of at peace (emphasis on the ‘sort of’).</p><p>It was quiet. Neither of them knew where to start.</p><p>Until-</p><p>“Gilbert-”</p><p>“Anne-”</p><p>They spoke at the same time and froze, urging the other to go first.</p><p>When neither started, both of them erupted into laughter. Any hint of awkwardness between them was gone now.</p><p>“You can go,” Gilbert told her with a smile.</p><p>A small smile in return formed on Anne’s face. “Just what exactly did you tell Bash and Miss. Stacy? You know, about the quest and everything.”</p><p>“I gave them a brief rundown. They know about what happened with Ares and Hades, of course. But Diana…” he hesitated.</p><p>“I know, Jerry told me that they want to keep it a secret for now. Which I understand,” she paused. “But at the same time, it just feels so wrong. Like the other children of Apollo deserve to hear about this, right? Seeing them so happy when Diana’s… down there… I can’t imagine how they would feel if they found out that they were partying and having all this fun while she was in the Underworld the whole time.”</p><p>Gilbert frowned. “I never even thought about that, how her siblings and friends would react… I was too worried about you.”</p><p>Anne felt her cheeks turn the color of her hair.</p><p>His eyes went wide. “W-Well, I mean that I noticed you were upset at dinner. So, you know, naturally I’d be worried about my friend,” he stuttered, having realized his little slip up.</p><p>“Right, of course,” she squeaked, cheeks still hot.</p><p>“Of course,” he repeated after her.</p><p>“So do you think Nate was working with Ares? Or was it just a coincidence that he drove us right in a lotus eater trap and left us there?” Anne asked in an attempt to change the subject.</p><p>Gilbert had to think for a moment. “To be honest, I didn’t know Nate when he was a camper… The summer I arrived was the summer he decided to leave and go out on his own. But from what people told me about him, I have reason to believe that he <em>did</em> betray us. As close as Roy was with him, a lot campers said that when Nate left camp, he was angry and hurt.”</p><p>“Angry about what?” Anne replied.</p><p>“No one really knows. Not even Roy. Clearly, since Roy was the one who sent us to Nate,” said Gilbert.</p><p>“Poor Roy. I wonder how he’ll feel when he finds out that Nate is working for the enemy,” she said, her voice full of concern.</p><p>This earned another frown from Gilbert. “I’m sure Roy can handle it. He’s a strong guy,” he muttered.</p><p>“I know, but I can’t imagine what that type of betrayal feels like. I mean, we barely knew Nate but I still considered him a friend.” She shuddered at the thought of this.</p><p>“Wait Anne, what did you mean by enemy?” Gilbert asked suddenly.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You said ‘working for the enemy’ when talking about Nate.”</p><p>Anne stopped in her tracks, debating whether or not now was the right time to tell Gilbert about the Titan lord rising from the dead.</p><p>Gilbert looked at her expectantly. His eyebrows were doing the arched furrowed thing they did whenever he was confused or worried.</p><p>She decided she would not be able to keep this from him any longer.</p><p>With a sigh, Anne tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You might not remember but down in the Underworld, when we walked by that tunnel that led to Tartarus, there was this terrible looming presence. It felt evil and… destructive," she paused and shuddered, just thinking about the evil aura it gave off. "Then when I was up at Olympus, I spoke with Zeus and I mentioned how we thought there might have been somebody manipulating Ares.”</p><p>Realization slowly dawned on Gilbert.</p><p>“Well, that thing in the pit… it’s Kronos.” Just saying those words sent shivers up Anne’s spine.</p><p>Gilbert contemplated this for a second. His expression was unreadable.</p><p>“So you’re saying that Kronos is… rising?” he said slowly.</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>“Well that’s terrifying,” he said in disbelief.</p><p>“Almost as terrifying as being stuck in the Lotus Hotel for all of eternity,” Anne quipped, trying to ease the severity of the information she just shared with him.</p><p>“I don’t know. Hearing that the Lord of the Titans is making a comeback kind of makes me wish I was back in the Lotus Hotel, blissfully unaware,” he replied.</p><p>“Then would I have to kiss you again to snap you out of it?” joked Anne. She immediately regretted those words the moment she saw Gilbert’s face.</p><p>Anne wanted to kick herself in the shin for being so thickheaded.</p><p>Gilbert laughed nervously, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that... I don’t know why I didn’t realize it was a trap.”</p><p>“How could you have? Besides, I’m the one who panicked and couldn’t think of any other way to get you out of the trance!” she sputtered. Again, she really wanted to kick herself in the shin right now.</p><p>“You were just being resourceful,” Gilbert said.</p><p>“As a friend, I’m really sorry for putting you in that position,” Anne said awkwardly. She failed to realize that his cheeks were just as rosy as her’s.</p><p>Gilbert had to pretend that the word ‘friend’ didn’t sting.</p><p>“Anyways, I should get going,” Anne continued, standing up abruptly. “It’s been the longest day of my life and I really need to get a proper night of sleep.”</p><p>Gilbert stood up as well. “I can walk you to your cabin,” he offered.</p><p>“No, no. It’s completely fine! You’ve already helped so much,” Anne assured him. “Goodnight Gilbert!”</p><p>And just like that, Anne hurried off into the night, leaving Gilbert more confused than ever as the flames of the fire danced in the moonlight.</p><hr/><p>Her feet carried her across the campground, not stopping until she collided face first into someone’s arms.</p><p>“Woah, woah, woah! Anne! Are you okay?” The familiar voice inquired, their hands steadying her.</p><p>“Sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Anne said apologetically.</p><p>Roy laughed good-naturedly. “Don’t sweat it, golden girl. You’re a hero now- you don’t have to be sorry about anything.”</p><p>She blushed and looked down at her feet. “Still, I should’ve been more careful.”</p><p>In the two weeks that she was gone, she had sort of forgotten how handsome Roy was. With his luscious brown hair, warm eyes, and amazing physique, he was practically swoon-worthy.</p><p>“Where are you even going that requires you to run that fast?” he asked, incredulous.</p><p>“I was going to my cabin. It’s nearly 4am and I’m exhausted,” she told him.</p><p>“Ah yes, it <em>has</em> been a long day for you. Here, I’ll walk with you!” Roy replied.</p><p>She wasn’t going to turn down a face like his so the two of them began the short trek towards cabin one.</p><p>As they walked, Anne wanted to ask Roy about Nate so badly but ultimately decided against it. It’s likely he didn’t even know and she didn’t want to be the one to break the news to him.</p><p>“Congratulations on completing your quest, though. I knew you could do it,” Roy said. Even though it was dark outside, Anne could see his bright smile.</p><p>“Thanks Roy,” she blushed. “It was definitely an experience.”</p><p>“I can imagine. I mean, fighting Echidna and the Chimera? Making it all the way to the Underworld and back? Defeating Ares in a brawl? I can’t believe you’ve only been training for a few weeks now and already accomplished all of that!” exclaimed Roy.</p><p>“I guess I just got lucky,” Anne said.</p><p>“Oh, and I’m sorry about Diana. I know it’s tough to lose a friend,” he said sympathetically.</p><p>She smiled at him sadly. “Thanks Roy.”</p><p>When they arrived at her cabin, Anne thanked him for walking her home, said goodnight, and closed the door behind her.</p><p>She was too tired to realize that the only people in camp who knew about the details of the quest were her, Gilbert, Jerry, Bash, and Miss. Stacy.</p><hr/><p>As Anne laid in her bed, she could hear the distant laughter of other campers. The celebration was still going on and wouldn’t be over until dawn when the last camper finally made their way to their bunk.</p><p>Staring up at the ceiling, she watched as thunder clouds rolled across the mosaic. She wondered if her father was thinking of her or if she was just a passing thought for him again, despite everything she just did for him. She thought about Diana down in the Underworld- if she was scared, cold, lonely, or fearless right now. She thought about Roy who didn’t even know about his friend and longtime mentor’s betrayal. And as she finally drifted off to sleep, she thought about Gilbert and the way he caught her every time she fell.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. golden girl</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Anne woke up the next day feeling well-rested. Having been allowed to sleep in, Anne could see the mid-day sun peaking through the window of the cabin. She stretched her body and hopped out of bed to get ready. It was already noon and she needed to speak with Miss. Stacy.</p><p>The trek to the Big House was like a breath of fresh air. Despite the late celebration last night, campers were up and running, training and doing their allotted activities for the day. Anne smiled to herself as she made her way up the steps of the Big House. She hadn’t been at camp for that long before her quest begun but being back here was like coming home again.</p><p>Inside the house was Miss. Stacy who was waiting for her patiently.</p><p>“Anne, good afternoon! How are you?” Miss. Stacy greeted her. She got up from her desk and poured Anne a cup of tea.</p><p>“I’m good! I slept really well for once,” Anne said, accepting the tea graciously and sitting down on the sofa.</p><p>Miss. Stacy smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I know you’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks.”</p><p>“It was definitely an adventure I’ll never forget,” replied Anne.</p><p>"I'm sure you won't," Miss. Stacy said. “Gilbert told me what happened with Diana. I’m so sorry, Anne.”</p><p>Anne looked down at the cup of tea resting in her hands, the guilt washing over her again.</p><p>“But you have to know that it wasn’t your fault. It was a conscious decision made by Diana- a hero’s sacrifice in order to stop the war from happening,” continued Miss. Stacy.</p><p>As much as Anne wanted to believe her beloved teacher, she just couldn’t. If she didn’t accompany Anne on her quest, Diana would not be stuck in the Underworld.</p><p>“I know it’s hard but you will come to terms with it eventually,” Miss. Stacy said.</p><p>“Do you think there’s anyway we can get her out of there?” Anne asked sorrowfully.</p><p>Miss. Stacy didn’t need to say anything. The answer was written on her face- you can’t break the rules of the gods.</p><p>“You must tell me, Anne. What happened up on Olympus?”</p><p>With a sigh, Anne told her about Kronos and how he manipulated Ares and Nate into carrying out his plans.</p><p>“That Nate… he was always a mischievous one but I definitely did not see this coming,” remarked Miss. Stacy, a contemplative expression on her face. She did not seem as surprised to hear about Kronos as Anne expected her to be. “We’ve feared the rise of Kronos for centuries… it looks like this is just the beginning.”</p><p>“So what are we going to do? How are we going to stop him? What’s going to happen next?” Anne asked, feeling a sense of urgency.</p><p>Miss. Stacy chuckled a bit. “Anne, as much as I admire your bravery, your entire life has changed in the last month. I don’t want you to feel burdened by what you’ve learned about Kronos. It’s not your responsibility. The best thing you can do right now is focus on your training and adapting to this new world. Maybe make some more friends. Let yourself learn and have fun.”</p><p>Anne knew there was no use arguing with this. After all, Miss. Stacy was right. Zeus had told her the same thing. She was too new to this world to get swept up into a struggle that has been brewing since the beginning of time.</p><p>As Anne left the Big House, she decided to go on a walk to clear her head. She found herself walking along the edge of the canoe lake. In the distance, she could see some campers laughing together in a canoe.</p><p><em>They’re lucky</em>, Anne thought to herself. <em>They can just relax and have fun because they aren’t the daughter of a Big Three God who happens to know Kronos could bring upon the end of the world at any second.</em></p><p>Anne knew she needed to stop feeling bad for herself and thinking so negatively. She tried to remind herself of what she accomplished. Not only did she complete the quest but she can summon lightning bolts at will! And even better- the lightning bolts are red like her hair! She decided it must be a gift from her father. Perhaps an apology for hiding her for 16 years.</p><p>She continued walking down the shoreline where she stumbled upon a comfy looking tree stump. Anne decided to rest for a moment and sat down on the stump, looking out into the lake. Alone with her thoughts, she was suddenly reminded of the prophecy she had been given before the quest.</p><p><em>You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. </em>Well, that was definitely Ares.</p><p><em>You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. </em>She had successfully returned the trident to Poseidon.</p><p>The last two lines of the prophecy were what stuck with her the most.</p><p>
  <em>You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.</em>
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  <em>And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.</em>
</p><p>She failed to save her best friend, Diana. Not to mention the fact that she had the opportunity to be reunited with her mother.</p><p>As for the friend who betrayed them… it had to be Nate. He most definitely left them at the Lotus Hotel on purpose, to deter them from returning the trident.</p><p>Anne shuddered, feeling chills up and down her back. In the end, everything that the Oracle said came true.</p><p>She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps from behind her. Her eyes narrowed and she quickly turned around to meet the perpetrator, immediately freezing when she saw who it was.</p><p>It was Roy.</p><p>“Anne, hey!” he exclaimed, “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. We just always seem to meet like this.”</p><p>“Oh no, it’s okay! I’ve just been on edge recently,” Anne assured him, her cheeks turning red.</p><p>“Understandable,” he replied. “I saw you sitting here alone and thought I should say bye before I left.”</p><p>Anne frowned when she noticed he was carrying a backpack and duffel bag. “Left? Are you going on a trip or something?”</p><p>There was a glint in Roy’s usually friendly eyes that Anne had never seen before.</p><p>“I’m leaving and I’m never coming back,” he told her.</p><p>“What?” Anne nearly gasped.</p><p>“I’m just not meant to be at camp anymore.”</p><p>He was being way too nonchalant about this. Something about his tone of voice and demeanor was different than usual. Anne could feel herself on edge again.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Anne asked cautiously.</p><p>Roy sighed, seemingly exasperated. “Anne, I’m sure you’ve heard about how I went on a quest with Nate a few years ago?”</p><p>She nodded slowly, Avonlea feeling heavy in her pocket.</p><p>His eyes grew dark. “No one knows about the details of that quest. I wasn’t allowed to talk about it when I returned, not even when Gilbert or Jerry or the rest of my cabin asked me about it. I couldn’t even say anything when Nate was so torn up about it and decided to leave camp for good. Because all the gods and even Miss. Stacy and that useless centaur Bash decided to bury it.”</p><p>Anne was startled by his tone, especially the way he insulted Bash. “Wh-what happened then?”</p><p>Roy laughed bitterly. “Nate was so excited when his mother, Nemesis, asked him to go on a quest for her. I looked up to him so much, you know. He was like the older brother I never had. And when he asked me to come along with him, I was more than happy to oblige. But of course, things didn’t go as planned. Nemesis wanted us to go and retrieve something that a former enemy of her’s had taken from her. We traveled all the way across the country to San Francisco to do so. We even accidentally stumbled upon the entrance to the Underworld on our way. But your father, Zeus, intervened, saying the quest was not sanctioned by Olympus and that smaller gods and goddesses weren’t allowed to give out quests without permission.” He practically spat out her father’s name.</p><p>“Roy, I’m sorry-”</p><p>He cut her off. “And then Hermes, my own <em>father</em>, didn’t even try to help. He could’ve asked Zeus to give us a chance to complete the quest for Nemesis but he didn’t. He didn’t help me and my mother when I was growing up and then when Nate and I needed him to defend us, he was silent. Too scared of his daddy, I guess. Haven’t heard from him since. It’s been four years and nothing.”</p><p>Anne was unsure what to think. Where was he going with this?</p><p>“Roy, I-I’m sorry that this happened to you. But I’m not sure what to say.”</p><p>“Don’t you understand, Anne? The gods… they don’t care about us and they never have. They just see us as pawns in their little game. And the moment we try to do something for ourselves and our own honor, they don’t care. The majority of the kids here haven’t even been acknowledged by their godly parent! Not to mention the children of minor gods like Nate who don’t even have their own cabins. Gods and goddesses like Nemesis are inferior to the other gods and their children have to bare the weight of that. Nobody even seemed to care when Nate left Camp Half-Blood,” Roy said, the anger in his voice rising.</p><p>“We can change that,” Anne tried to reason with him. “They’re still our parents. Who says they don’t care about us? Maybe if we-”</p><p>Roy scoffed. “There’s no use. Anne, I’ve trained for nearly seven years now. And I’m sick of it- the empty promises, the gods’ indifference, everything. For so long, I wanted my father to finally see and recognize me as his son, but I’m nothing to him. And now, he’s nothing to me.”</p><p>Anne could not wrap her head around this. She never would have guessed that Roy of all people would be harboring this much hatred towards the gods.</p><p>“I’m sorry to do this Anne... you really were growing on me,” Roy said.</p><p>“What-”</p><p>With the snap of his fingers, a small fired burned at her feet before the flames disappeared to reveal a black scorpion crawling out of a black hole.</p><p>Anne grabbed Avonlea but Roy stopped her.</p><p>“Not a smart idea. One move and this little scorpion from the pits of Tartarus can jump up to fifteen feet. And their venom can kill you in sixty seconds,” he warned.</p><p>Suddenly, everything made sense.</p><p><em>You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. </em>It wasn’t about Nate, it was about <em>Roy</em>.</p><p>Anne felt like she had just been kicked in the gut. But it all made sense now. How could she have missed this?</p><p>“You- you’re the one,” Anne managed.</p><p>“Am I?” Roy asked, almost taunting her.</p><p>“You’re the one who summoned the hellhound that day. You-you planned all of this. You’re working for Kronos.” The words practically rang in her ears.</p><p>“I’m surprised it took you so long to realize this. I thought a daughter of Zeus would be much more quick-witted,” he sneered.</p><p>“You manipulated Nate… you manipulated <em>Ares</em>.”</p><p>He laughed again. “Now that’s where you’re wrong. Nate was eager to be involved while Ares is just an incompetent trigger-happy fool. You mention the word ‘war’ and he’s all in. I’m sure Olympus will have their way with him before we get to him.”</p><p>Anne was tense as the scorpion slowly crawled up her leg. “We? As in you and Kronos? Do you really think bringing chaos to the world will make your father finally see you, Roy? Is it really worth it?”</p><p>His expression darkened once more. “The gods need to know they would be nothing without half-bloods. And Kronos recognizes that. He tells me it in my dreams- he understands the strength of demigods.”</p><p>“You’re delusional, Roy. Kronos doesn’t care about you either. Don’t you see? He’s merely just using you as a pawn too!” Anne’s eyes were filling with frustrated tears.</p><p>“It’s inevitable, Anne. Kronos is rising and unfortunately, you will be dead before you get to see it,” Roy paused. For a moment, he looked sympathetic but it was gone in an instant. “I must leave now. My lord is waiting."</p><p>“Roy, please-”</p><p>“Goodbye, golden girl,” he said a bit sadly. “There’s a new Golden Age coming and you won’t be apart of it.”</p><p>Roy slashed his sword in an arc and was gone before Anne could even blink.</p><p>The pit scorpion jumped from her leg and towards her face.</p><p>Luckily, her reflexes were click and she swatted it away, uncapping Avonlea in an instant. The scorpion lunged at her again but she managed to slice it with her sword, sending it back to Tartarus.</p><p>Anne was relieved for only a second before she felt something warm oozing out of her hand. She looked down and realized the scorpion had managed to nick her when she swat it away.</p><p>All of a sudden, she could feel her vision blurring. Her hand felt numb and the rest of her body was growing weaker by the second. <em>60 seconds </em>is what Roy had told her. Panicking, she ran towards camp, crashing into trees and tripping over her feet. The world around her was practically spinning. Using up the last bit of her strength, she burst through the trees.</p><p>“Help!” she cried out, just as her legs gave out and sent her crumbling towards the ground.</p><p>The last thing she saw before blacking out was Ruby and a few other campers running towards her.</p><hr/><p>When Anne woke up in one of the infirmary cots, her entire body was aching. She was so weak she couldn’t even muster the strength to sit up.</p><p>Gilbert sat beside the bed, his nose buried in a book. It was dark outside the window and the atmosphere of the camp seemed relatively calm.</p><p>Anne wondered how long she had been out for and how long Gilbert had been sitting there.</p><p>She couldn’t help but be reminded of when she first woke up in the infirmary, fresh off of fighting the Minotaur, where she met Diana and Gilbert for the first time.</p><p>“Reading anything interesting?” she managed, her voice hoarse.</p><p>Gilbert’s head shot up. “Anne! You’re up! How are you feeling?”</p><p>“I’ve certainly been better,” she replied.</p><p>He reached out to the table and grabbed a cube of ambrosia. “Here. This should help.”</p><p>She gratefully accepted the ambrosia and popped it into her mouth. A warm feeling washed over her body and she instantly felt some of her strength coming back.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said. “How long was I out?”</p><p>“A little over five hours. Jerry was here earlier waiting for you to wake up but he had an emergency. Meanwhile, all of the Apollo healers were stressed beyond belief. They’ve never dealt with pit scorpion venom before. But thank gods Bash is a great healer. He was at your side in seconds,” he told her. He took a damp cloth and dabbed her forehead before helping her sit up, adjusting her pillow into a more comfortable position.</p><p>It came so naturally for him that Anne was slightly taken aback.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said, shyly.</p><p>“You know, before I came to camp… I wanted to be a doctor,” he admitted. The room was so dimly lit that Anne couldn’t see the slight tint on his cheeks.</p><p>“What changed your mind?”</p><p>“I realized I didn’t just want to heal people. I wanted to make the world into a place that protected people, a place where people were safe,” he explained.</p><p>“So it makes sense that you want to pursue architecture,” Anne finished for him.</p><p>Gilbert nodded, continuing to press the cloth to her forehead. He was so focused that Anne found it kind of cute.</p><p>It was quiet for a moment when Anne suddenly registered the events that unfolded just a few hours ago.</p><p>“Wait Gilbert, do you know what happened? That it was Roy the whole time?”</p><p>He paused for a moment and sighed. “Yeah. After you arrived at the infirmary, we realized that Roy had packed up all of his things and left. I kind of put two and two together.”</p><p>“Are you okay?” Anne asked him earnestly. She knew Roy was like a brother to Gilbert.</p><p>“I will be,” he said. His eyes seemed far away. “I always knew he was angry at the gods but… I never thought he would go this far. He really was never the same after that quest.”</p><p>She weakly put her hand on top of his. “I’m really sorry.”</p><p>There was a sad smile on Gilbert’s face.</p><p>The door abruptly swung open and interrupted their quiet moment. Anne quickly took her hand off of his.</p><p>In the doorframe stood Ruby, cheeks flushed and out of breath.</p><p>“Anne, I came as fast as I could! I heard you just woke up!” she exclaimed.</p><p>“From who?” Gilbert inquired.</p><p>“The nymphs talk,” replied Ruby as if it was obvious. She rushed to Anne’s side. “How are you feeling? I was so worried when you came out of the woods. I really thought you were going to die.”</p><p>Anne chuckled a little. “I’m feeling a little better now. And trust me, I thought I was going to die too.”</p><p>Ruby didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that. “Is it true then? That Roy…?”</p><p>Both Anne and Gilbert nodded, leaving Ruby shell-shocked. Roy was truly so well-loved around camp. No one saw this coming.</p><hr/><p>The rest of the summer was uneventful. Or at least as uneventful as being a demigod can be. Roy was the talk of the town for a week but as most gossip goes, it slowly became a thing of the past. Miss. Stacy and Bash were sure to keep a watchful eye out in case Roy decided to make a comeback.</p><p>Regardless of everything, Anne worked hard on training and studying Ancient Greek. After learning about the rise of Kronos, Anne and Gilbert decided it would be a smart idea to hone her swordsmanship skills as well as gain control over her lightning and flying abilities. They trained nearly every day.</p><p>It was safe to say that Gilbert left the first few lessons frazzled with frizzy hair.</p><p>Meanwhile, Anne started to grow closer with Ruby, much to the Aphrodite girls’ disdain. For some reason, Ruby decided to become attached to Anne’s hip, always offering to eat with her so she didn’t have to eat alone. Ruby even showed Anne how to harvest strawberries in the strawberry fields by camp.</p><p>Anne truly enjoyed Ruby’s company but she missed Diana every day. She still believed there was a way to get Diana out of the Underworld and she was determined to figure it out.</p><p>As summer came to an end, Anne found herself contemplating where she was going to be for the school year. She knew the safest and smartest option would be to stay at camp and train. However, part of her still longed to go to school and further her education.</p><p>“You should talk to Bash,” Gilbert told her. “I’m sure he might be able to help.”</p><p>And that’s how Anne ended up making arrangements with some close friends of Bash named Matthew and Marilla. They offered to take Anne in for the school year where she would be able to attend a fancy private school for girls in New York. A school named West City Academy for Girls.</p><p>She was over the moon with happiness when Bash told her the news. To be safe, Bash even arranged for Jerry and Gilbert to attend the brother school of West City Academy in case Anne ran into any problems. As a daughter of a Big Three god, it was practically a guarantee that monsters would be attracted to her scent.</p><p>The brother school was a boarding school called Silverleaf Charter School. Gilbert and Jerry would be living in the dorms there.</p><p>On the last day of camp, Anne couldn’t help but feel sad as she watched all the campers leave. It was strange to see camp so empty. A few were staying for the school year, but most were returning home to their families.</p><p>“Have a great school year, Anne!” Ruby told her. “Remember you have my number and can text me whenever!”</p><p>Anne smiled as Ruby gave her a huge hug. If you told her a few months ago that summer would end with Ruby being one of her closest friends, she would not have believed it.</p><p>“Anne!” A voice called her.</p><p>Jerry was frantically galloping towards her with his bags in haul.</p><p>“Jerry, we don’t leave until tomorrow. Why do you look like you’re leaving now?” she asked, confused.</p><p>“Because I am leaving now. I’ve been reassigned to a school in Massachusetts,” he informed her.</p><p>“What? What do you mean?”</p><p>“I think there’s a demigod there, unaware obviously. His aura seems very powerful and Bash needs me to check it out. If my instincts are correct, the demigod will definitely need to be brought to camp next summer,” he explained. “I’m sorry I won’t be with you during the school year, but at least you’ll have Gilbert!”</p><p>Anne nodded. “It’s okay, I understand. Your duty calls. I’ll miss you though.”</p><p>“I’ll miss you too,” Jerry said before giving her a huge hug.</p><hr/><p>When it came time for Anne and Gilbert to leave camp, they packed their things into a van that was provided to them by Matthew and Marilla. Miss. Stacy was driving them.</p><p>Gilbert was a bit sad to leave Bash. After all, Bash was the one who had taken him in under his wing several years ago. Every year after that, Gilbert had stayed at Camp Half-Blood for the whole year which meant it was his first time attending a real school since he was a child.</p><p>“Don’t be afraid to Iris message me, Gil,” quipped Bash as the two said goodbye.</p><p>Anne and Gilbert hopped into the van, both already missing camp. As they drove away, they watched as Camp Half-Blood became smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely from the rearview window.</p><p>“Until next year,” Anne whispered to herself, clutching Avonlea in her hands.</p><hr/><p>Jerry was not a fan of Massachusetts. He was used to moving around and finding demigods but for some reason, Massachusetts rubbed him the wrong way. He did, however, prefer private schools to public schools. The food was always much better.</p><p>When he arrived at Mountain Ridge Academy, he was led to his new dorm room which he was sharing with the suspected demigod.</p><p>He opened the door and stepped into the room. It was pretty bare and empty other than the two beds, desks, dressers, and a single Death Note poster on his roommates' side. The roommate sat at his desk with his back facing Jerry.</p><p>Jerry’s nose was immediately filled with a scent that he could not exactly pinpoint. It was definitely demigod, though.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Jerry, your new roommate. What’s your name?”</p><p>The boy turned around at the sound of Jerry’s voice. He was skinny with pale skin and brown-orange hair.</p><p>“I’m Cole. Nice to meet you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi thank you so much for reading this story! I had so much fun writing it and I really appreciate all the comments.</p><p>there's so much to unpack with the ending so I hope you all enjoyed :)</p><p>I definitely want to continue this series and write a sequel because there's so much to expand upon using both elements of the anne with an e universe and the percy jackson universe so please let me know if you would be interested in a sequel!!!!</p><p>p.s. stream dynamite by bts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdZLi9oWNZg</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. update!</h2></a>
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    <p>hi, just a quick little update for anyone who's interested. im currently writing the sequel to this story and the first chapter has been posted as part 2 to the anne of olympus series! thank you so much :D</p>
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